Letters  of 

Thomas  E.  Thomas 


v. 


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THE  LIBRARIES 


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OF 

TH0MA5  L.  THOMAS 


1913 


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LLTTLR5  OF  THOMA5  L.  THOMA5, 
TO  H15  CHILDREN  AND  OTHLR5, 
MAINLY  ABOUT  THEIR  EDUCATION. 
AL50  LETTERS  RECEIVED  BY  HIM 


'       'ClktiNNATI 
THE  EBBERT  &  RICHARDSON  CO. 
1913 


INTRODUCTORY 

THE  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Thomas,  was  born  at  Chelmsford, 
England,  in  1812;  and  died  while  Professor  of  New  Testa- 
ment Exegesis  in  Lane  Seminary,  at  Walnut  Hills,  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  in  1875. 

Meanwhile,  he  was  graduated  at  Miami  University ;  had 
taught  school  at  Rising  Sun,  Indiana,  and  at  Franklin,  Warren 
County,  Ohio;  had  studied  for  the  ministry  and  served  his  first 
pastorate  at  Harrison,  Bw^er  County,  Ohio;  had  been  about  ten 
years  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Hamilton ;  had 
been  for  five  years  President  of  Hanover  College  in  Indiana,  and 
then  for  about  four  years  Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  New  Albany,  which,  removing  to  Chicago,  became  the  Mc- 
Cormick  Seminary. 

In  1858  he  removed  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  for  about  thirteen 
years  he  was  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  until 
his  removal  to  Walnut  Hills. 

In  1840,  Dr.  Thomas  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Fisher,  of  Northboro,  Massachusetts.  Their  children  were  Mary 
May,  married  to  Col.  Edwin  A.  Parrott  at  Dayton ;  Elizabeth  R., 
married  to  Theo.  Kemper,  at  Walnut  Hills ;  Alfred  A.,  married 
to  Jennie  L.  Head ;  John  H.,  married  to  Linda  R.  Rogers ;  Leila 
Ada ;  Nathaniel  F.,  married  to  Anna  Rhodes;  and  Ebbie  and 
Willie,  who  died  in  childhood. 

The  mind  and  promise  of  Willie,  who  died  perhaps  from  over- 
study,  or  too  early  return  to  school  after  scarlet  fever,  seemed 
most  like  his  father. 

Little  record  is  left  of  him  except  this  programme  of  the  day 
which  in  the  boy's  handwriting  is  now  in  his  oldest  brother's 
scrap  book.     It  was  written  when  Willie  was  nine  years  old. 

Pro-gramme  of  the  day.       June  29th 

Get  up  at  6  oclock.  do  anything  till  breakfast  at  7.  bring  wood, 
and  feed  the  chickens  till  9.  Weed  the  garden  from  9  to  half  past 
9.  Learn  lessons  From  half  past  9  to  10.  Read  from  10  to  half 
past  10.     From  half  past  10  to  12  play  horse.     From  12  to  half 


4  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

past  1,  eat  dinner  bring  wood  and  feed  chickens.  Play  soldier  from 
half  past  1  to  3.  Read  from  3  to  half  past  3.  From  half  past  3  to 
4  play  ball.  From  4  to  5  learn  lessons.  Feed  Chickens,  eat  supper 
and  bring  wood  from  5  to  7.  Look  at  pictures  from  7  to  a  quarter 
past  eight,     at  a  quarter  past  8  go  to  bed. 

Will  Thomas 
June  39th 
1868 

Ebbie  died  over  fifty  years  ago.  In  Woodland  Cemetery  at 
Dayton,  the  bodies  of  these  boys  rest  beside  their  father;  and 
upon  his  tombstone  is  their  joint  epitaph: 

"Why  did  they  die  so  early? 

Because  morning  cannot  last  till  noon 

nor  spring  through  summer." 


I 

FROM  HIS  FATHER 


Venice,  (Butler  Co.  O.),  Aug.  8th,  1829. 
My  dear  Son, 

On  Monday,  July  27th,  I  commenced  my  journey  to  meet  Mr. 
Thomson.*  The  creeks  were  very  full,  and  the  roads  very  muddy. 
Mr.  Thomson  and  myself  met  at  Mr.  Hughes  and  stayed  all  night. 

Tuesday,  the  28th.  We  rode  to  Elizabethtown,  four  miles 
from  Mr.  Hughes,  and  left  an  appointment  to  preach  as  we  re- 
turned. We  rode  seven  miles  farther  to  a  Mr.  Carmichaels,  three 
miles  west  of  Lawrenceburg ;  here  we  left  an  appointment  to 
preach  as  we  returned.  Thence  we  proceeded  west  16  miles,  ex- 
pecting to  preach  that  evening;  but  the  people  had  not  received 
Mr.  Thomson's  letter,  and,  of  course,  no  appointment  was  made. 

The  next  day,  Wednesday  the  29th,  I  preached  at  11  o'clock; 
and  Mr.  T.  preached  at  four  in  the  afternoon.  This  is  quite  a 
country  place,  called  the  Ridge,  between  Hogan  Creek  and  Lochry 
Creek.  The  people  attended  well  and  appeared  to  receive  the 
Word  with  gladness.  We  proceeded  the  same  evening  eight  miles, 
in  a  direction  nearly  south,  to  preach  at  a  country  place  called 
Murray's  settlement.  That  was  the  most  vmeven  and  difficult 
road  that  I  ever  traveled :  the  night  was  on ;  we  lost  our  way ; 
we  fully  expected  to  remain  in  the  woods  all  night ;  but  after  long 
groping  through  woods  and  hollows,  we  found  a  house,  called  the 
people  up,  and  the  man  ofifered  to  conduct  us  two  miles  for  50 
cents ;  but  we  gave  him  50  to  let  us  stop  in  his  house  until  morn- 
ing.    I  preached  at  Murray's  at  10  o'clock  the  next  day. 


*The  Rev.  John  Thomson,  for  many  years,  and  until  1832,  pastor  of  the 
Springfield,  now  Springdale,  church.  For  some  account  of  this  surely 
remarkable  man,  whose  sons  were  of  the  little  group  who  had  the  distin- 
guished honor  of  founding  Wabash  College,  see  (1)  note,  page  30,  of  "Cor- 
respondence of  Thos.  E.  Thomas,  Mainly  Relating  to  the  Anti-Slavery 
Conflict  in  Ohio,  Especially  in  the  Presbyterian  Church."  Published  by 
his  sons,  1909.  (2)  "The  Story  of  a  Country  Church,"  by  Chas.  W. 
Hoffman,  Western  Tract  Society,  Cincinnati,  1902. 


Thomas  Robinson  of  London 

Father  of  Elizabeth,   (Mrs.  Thomas  Thomas)  ;    of  Sarah,   (Mrs.  Edward 
Stallybrass)  ;    and  of  Mary,    (Mrs.  Thomas  Spencer). 


From  His  Father  7 

Thursday,  the  30th.  We  proceeded  12  miles  farther  south 
and  Mr.  Thomson  preached  at  a  farm  house  about  three  miles 
from  Vevay. 

On  Friday,  the  31st,  we  arrived  at  Vevay.  I  preached  on 
Friday  at  two  o'clock,  and  again  in  the  evening.  Mr.  Thomson 
preached  in  a  country  place  six  miles  from  Vevay ;  on  Saturday 
morning  I  preached.  Mr.  T.  preached  in  the  afternoon ;  and  I 
preached  among  the  Swiss. 

On  Sabbath,  Aug.  2nd,  we  had  prayer-meeting  at  eight  in  the 
morning.  I  preached  at  11;  then  we  administered  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  took  in  thirteen  new  members.  I  went  four  miles 
out  of  town  and  preached  at  night ;  and  Mr.  T.  preached  at  Vevay. 
We  had  another  meeting  at  sunrise  on  Monday  morning,  and  then 
took  our  leave.     Our  meetings  were  very  solemn  and  profitable. 

Give  my  kind  love  to  your  room-mates.  I  shall  be  glad  to 
receive  a  letter  from  you,  as  soon  as  convenient. 

That  you  may  enjoy  health  of  body  and  peace  of  mind,  rise  to 

great  honor,  as  a  learned,  holy,  useful  man  in  this  world,  and 

eternal  glory  in  the  world  to  come,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  father, 

^    ^u       T7  ^u  Thos.  Thomas. 

io  Ihos.  h.  ihomas, 

Miami  University. 


NOTE  —  Rev.  Thomas  Thomas,  father  of  Rev.  Dr.  Thos.  E.  Thomas,  of 
Welsh  parentage,  and  born  in  1776,  at  Wem,  in  Shropshire,  England,  was 
while  young,  a  shepherd  lad,  and  afterward  worked  as  a  coal  miner.  He 
became  converted,  and  a  member  of  that  denomination  known  as  the  Inde- 
pendent Church.  When  about  twenty  six  years  old,  his  piety  and  eagerness 
to  learn  attracted  the  notice  of  Thomas  Wilson,  Esq.,  whom  my  father 
mentions  as  a  well  known  philanthropist  of  London,  who  sent  him  to  Hox- 
ton  Academy  in  London  to  pursue  a  course  preparatory  to  the  Gospel 
ministry.  Thomas  Thomas  then,  in  his  diary,  recorded  that,  "he  had  such 
a  sight  of  his  own  ignorance  as  made  him  afraid  to  go  out  of  the  house ; 
he  could  scarcely  write,  and  his  own  name  was  all  he  could  spell  with 
certainty." 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  Independents,  he  soon  began  preaching 
daily,  sometimes  in  churches,  more  often  at  taverns  and  in  public  high- 
ways ;  and  to  this  practice  he  owed  that  vigor  and  fluency  in  extempore 
speech  for  which  the  Independents  as  a  body  were  distinguished.  His 
diary  records  he  "spent  much  time  in  singing,"  and  my  father  adds,  "My 
father  had  a  sweet  and  powerful  voice;  was  a  master  of  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music;  and  spared  no  pains  then  and  in  later  life,  to  cultivate 
sacred  song  among  the  young  people  of  his  charge." 

In  1806,  he  became  assistant  pastor  of  the  Independent  church  at 
Chelmsford,  in  Essex,  where  he  preached  for  the  next  ten  years.  Mean- 
while he  had   married,   in   1808,   Elizabeth   Robinson   in   London;    and  at 


8'  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

Chelmsford  were  born  to  them,  Mary,  afterwards  Mrs.  Nelson  Gilpin  of 
Hanover,  Ind.,  Thomas  Ebenezer,  whose  correspondence  is  here  published; 
and  Elizabeth,  afterwards  Mrs.  Chas.  Burrowes  of  Franklin,  O. 

I  quote  from  my  father's  abstract  of  his  father's  diary: 

"1814. —  Toward  the  close  of  March,  my  father  preached  his  farewell 
sermon  to  the  church  of  Chelmsford,  before  a  thousand  people,  who  were 
affected  beyond  description."     He  says : 

"I  told  them  that  it  had  been  my  desire  and  determination,  if  I  should 
ever  leave  them,  to  preach  from  Acts,  20 — "I  am  clear  from  the  blood  of 
all  men,"  but  it  was  not  in  my  power  to  do  so.  I  should  therefore,  preach 
on  Eph.  6,  10,  to  the  end, — "Finally,  brethren,  be  strong  in  the  Lord,"  etc. 
I  spoke  with  great  solemnity,  with  many  tears,  and  left  the  place  of  worship 
where  I  had  preached  for  ten  years,  never  to  enter  it  more." 

Before  leaving,  he  records: 

"All  the  church  and  congregation,  with  many  others,  came  to  see  me 
in  my  own  house.  A  prayer  meeting  was  held  there  every  night  for  about 
two  weeks,  at  which  different  persons  attended  in  rotation,  because  there 
was  not  room  enough  for  all  at  once.  The  prayers  and  tears  I  shall^  never 
forget;  and  I  believe  that  many  of  the  kind  interpositions  of  Providence, 
which  I  have  since  experienced,  have  been  in  answer  to  these  fervent  sup- 
plications." 

After  living  in  Knottingley,  Yorkshire,  where  were  born  Alfred,  after- 
wards married  to  Mary  Eliza  Fisher,  and  now  living  in  Washington,!).  C. ; 
also  Sarah  Robinson,  now  living  at  Franklin,  O.,  and  after  organizing  a 
Lancastrian  school,  he  records :  "While  the  dark  clouds  of  political 
troubles  rolled  thickly  over  our  heads,  my  mind  hankered  after  America; 
and  my  wife,  who  was  long  averse  to  so  long  and  difficult  a  journey,  con- 
senting to  leave  our  native  land  we,  (self,  wife  and  five  children),  sailed 
from  Liverpool  Sept.  9,  1818."  The  family  landed  at  Baltimore,  where 
Thomas  E.  Thomas  records,  "One  of  the  first  sights  my  father  saw  in  Bal- 
timore, was  the  public  whipping  of  a  negro  slave,  which  quickened  his 
natural,  deep  abhorrence  of  slavery." 

He  hired  a  wagon  to  take  his  family  over  the  mountains ;  built  an  ark 
at  Pittsburgh,  and  floating  down  the  Ohio,  after  many  dangers  and  hard- 
ships, reached  Cincinnati  Feby.  9,  1819.  At  Cincinnati,  he  lived  about  a 
year:  he  refused  to  join  the  Presbytery,  and  organized  a  Union  Missionary 
Society,  based  on  the  plan  of  support  from  all  the  different  denominations. 
To  service  under  the  support,  or  rather  in  the  support  of  this  organization, 
he  gave  the  remaining  years  of  his  life ;  much  of  the  time  itinerating  on 
horseback,  and  organizing  little  flocks,  and  preaching  in  southwestern  Ohio. 
He  started  schools  and  churches  among  the  Africans,  as  he  always  called 
them,  whom  he  found  ignorant,  abused  and  neglected. 

At  Cincinnati,  a  daughter,  Ann,  was  born,  since  Mrs.  David  Linton  of 
Wilmington,  O.,  now  living  in  Kansas ;  and  afterwards  a  son,  John,  mar- 
ried to  Huldah  Little,  now  living  in  Chicago. 

In  1820,  Thomas  Thomas  removed  his  family  to  the  Welsh  settlement 
at  Paddy's  Run,  Butler  Co.,  O.,  where  a  congregation  of  Independents  had 
gathered,  with  doctrines  "evangelical  but  not  sectarian,"  and  over  which  he 
became  pastor.  Here  he  and  his  wife  established  a  school  where  the  higher 
branches  were  taught,  till  1828,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Venice  in  the  same  county.     He  died  Oct.  31,  1831. 

(A.  A.  T.,  written  in  1893.) 


II 

FROM  REV.  EDWARD  STALLYBRASS 

Missionary  in  Siberia 


Siberia,  River  Khodon,  Oct.  11,  1833. 
My  dear  Nephew : 

Your  letter  has  at  length  come  to  hand ;  but  not  till  one  of 
those  to  whom  it  was  directed  was  numbered  with  the  dead.  You 
will  most  probably  have  heard  from  England  of  the  removal  of 
your  dear  aunt  from  this  state  of  trial  to  one,  I  trust,  of  eternal 
enjoyment. 

I  was  happy  to  learn,  both  from  your  uncle  Thomas,  and  also 
from  your  own  letter,  the  nature  of  your  studies  and  prospects. 
I  trust  it  is  your  desire  and  purpose  to  devote  them  all  to  the 
promotion  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  work  of  the  gospel ;  and 
that  He  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  employ  them  for  this  end. 
I  was  also  gratified  to  hear  of  the  advantages  which  you  enjoy, 
and  especially  of  the  disinterested  kindness  of  your  professor  and 
of  other  friends.  May  the  Lord  reward  them  ten-fold  for  their 
kindness;  and  may  you  be  enabled  to  prove  to  them  that  it  was 
not,  so  far  as  it  related  to  yourself,  ill  bestowed ! 

I  was  pleased  with  the  account  you  gave  me  of  your  studies. 
And  in  return  I  will  tell  you  what  your  cousins  are  doing.  But 
you  must  make  all  the  allowance  for  them  which  their  having 
three,  so  to  speak,  vernacular  languages  to  learn,  and  having 
had  no  other  teacher  than  myself  and  your  dear  aunt,  requires. 
The  three  languages  are  Russian,  Mongolian  and  English.  The 
foremost  of  these  they  learned  first ;  in  the  second  they  are  most 
at  home ;  and  the  third  has  been  most  difficult  of  acquisition. 
Some  of  them  have  also  added  to  these  a  partial  knowledge  of 
Thibetan,  the  sacred  language  of  Lamaism.  *  *  *  Their  loss  in 
the  removal  of  their  dearly  beloved  mother  is  great  indeed.  *  *  * 
What  pleasure  did  it  afiford  us  to  learn  by  your  dear  mother's 
letter  that  four  of  you  accompanied  your  dear  father  and  mother 


Sarah  Robinson  Stallybrass 
Thomas  Spencer  and  Wife 


Rev.  Edward  Stallybrass 
Elizabeth  Robinson  Thomas 


From  Rev.  Edward  Stallybrass  11 

to  the  Lord's  table  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  his  ministrations  upon 
earth ! 

*  *  * 

We  have  obtained  the  sanction  of  the  government  for  the 
printing  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  I  have  forwarded  my  version 
of  the  Pentateuch  to  St.  Petersburg  for  censorship,  (without  which 
no  work  may  be  printed  in  this  country).  I  am  now  revising  the 
Psalms  and  the  books  of  Solomon,  after  which  I  hope  to  revise 
Daniel  and  the  Minor  Prophets,  which  will  complete  my  share  of 
the  work.  The  New  Testament  was  translated  by  other  hands, 
and  parts  of  it  are  in  circulation  among  the  people.  I  have  now 
been  preaching  in  the  Mongol  ( ?)  language  more  than  ten  years. 
*  *  *  I  have  also  composed  a  few  hymns  which  are  sung  by  my 
pupils,  of  whom  I  have  at  present  ten. 

Earnestly  desiring  the  divine  blessing  to  rest  upon  you,  to  fit 
you  for  labor  and  to  bless  your  efforts,  with  best  love  to  your  dear 
mother  and  brothers  and  sisters,  I  remain 

Sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

Edward  Stallybrass. 


NOTE  —  Rev.  Edward  Stallybrass  married  Sarah  Robinson,  who  was  a 
sister  of  Dr.  Thomas'  mother  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.,  immediately  on  their 
marriage,  went,  at  the  instance  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  to 
Siberia.  Four  children,  born  in  Siberia,  grew  up:  Sarah  married  Adolph 
Sonnenschein,  a  teacher  and  author  in  London;  and  three  sons,  Edward, 
William  and  John,  are  now  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  England.  Mrs. 
Stallybrass  died  in  1833,  at  the  mission  on  the  Khoden,  leaving  the  memory 
of  a  beautiful  Hfe.  She  was  buried  in  that  distant  land:  her  biography, 
made  up  mainly  from  her  letters,  was  published  in  London. 

When  in  St.  Petersburg  on  their  journey  out,  the  Czar  gave  them_  a 
private  interview ;  expressed  high  appreciation  of  their  devotion,  and  with 
evident  feeling,  promised  them  his  prayers  and  his  aid.  But  in  1840,  the 
mission  was  closed  by  the  Czar's  order,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Most  Holy 
Synod  of  the  Greek  Church.  This  was  in  reply  to  an  application  for  per- 
mission to  print  the  Old  Testament  in  the  Mongolian  tongue.  The  New 
Testament  had  been  printed  and  parts  of  it,  at  least,  circulated.  Rev.  Mr. 
Stallybrass  translated  the  Psalms,  the  books  of  Moses,  Solomon,  Daniel 
and  the  Minor  Prophets. 

Another  missionary  of  the  London  Society  was  a  classmate  of  Thomas 
Thomas  in  Hoxton  College,  Robert  Morrison,  sent  out  in  1807,  as  the  first 
protestant  missionary  to  China.  He  and  my  grandfather  kept  up  a  cor- 
respondence during  life.     (J.  H.  T.) 


Ill 

FROM  HIS  MOTHER 


Wilmington,  O.,  July  22,  1845. 
My  dear  Son  and  Daughter : 

I  embrace  the  opportunity  of  writing  by  Judge  Vance,  to  con- 
gratulate you  upon  the  birth  of  your  son ;  indeed  I  rejoice  with 
you,  and  pray  that  with  the  boon  you  may  have  renewed  grace 
given  you  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  train  him  up  for  God ;  if  it 
please  Him  to  make  it  so, —  an  able  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Take  care  though ;  these  little  treasures  steal  away  our  thoughts, 
and  leave  but  half  for  God.  Remember  they  are  but  lent  treas- 
ures, to  be  recalled  anon :  we  should  hold  them  as  all  other  com- 
forts,—  loosely.  It  seems  as  if  the  Great  Jehovah  was  reminding 
us  of  this,  for  the  same  letter  that  announced  the  birth  of  your 
dear  little  son,  brought  the  account  of  Mary's  trial.  She  is  a 
Christian,  and,  I  hope,  will  be  enabled  to  make  a  wise  improvement 
of  the  stroke.  *  *  * 

I  wish  something  could  be  done  for  this  place ;  the  Presby- 
terian interest  appears  very  low,  and  will  sink  altogether,  unless 
some  devoted  preacher  comes  in  a  right  spirit  to  do  good. 

With  much  love,  I  am,  my  dear  children, 

Yr.  affnt.  Mother, 

E.  R.  Thomas. 


IV 
FROM  ADAMS  JEWETT,  M.  D. 


I3ear  Sir:  Dayton,  O.,  Sept.  2,  1845. 

We  have  seen  in  the  Philanthropist  that  the  Xenia  meeting 
at  which  you  expect  to  be  present,  is  to  be  held  Wednesday  and 
Thursday  of  next  week;  and  we  have  thought  that  it  would  suit 
best  if  you  could  make  your  visit  to  us  on  your  way  there.  If 
you  could  be  here  on  the  Sabbath,  we  should  be  pleased  to  have 
one  or  more  discourses  on  that  day,  hut  the  doors  of  the  church 
of  your  own  denomination  would  he  closed  against  you.  We  could 
obtain,  however,  the  use  of  the  Christian  Church,  or  some  other 
place.  I  say  the  doors  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  would  be 
closed,  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Haines,  who,  I  believe,  is  an  elder. 
But  if  you  consent  to  come,  application  shall  be  made  to  the  trus- 
tees; and  it  may  he  that  the  use  of  the  church  will  be  granted. 
If  possible,  I  hope  you  will  be  here  that  day. 

If  not  convenient  for  you  to  be  with  us  on  Sabbath,  you  might 
come  on  Monday,  and  give  an  address  that  evening,  and  one  on 
Tuesday  evening;  also,  if  you  judge  proper,  Tuesday  afternoon. 
It  would  be  desirable  to  put  into  our  notices  some  one  or  more  of 
the  principal  points  on  which  you  would  purpose  to  speak. 

I  have  suggested  the  first  of  next  week  as  the  most  convenient 
time,  because  the  Baptist  Association  commences  its  sessions  on 
Wednesday  of  next  week;  and  there  will  be  numerous  meetings 
every  day  at  which  the  Baptists  will  wish  to  be  present ;  and  they 
will  also  be  anxious  to  hear  you.  There  are  more  abolitionists 
in  their  Society  than  in  any  other  in  town. 

I  am  not  informed  what  family  you  have,  but  I  can  assure 
you  your  lady  and  children  (if  you  have  them),  will  be  cordially 
welcome.  A  little  journeying  is  very  good  for  the  health.  You 
and  yours  will  be  most  heartily  welcome  at  my  house  on  Jefferson 
St.  between  2nd  and  3rd  Sts. 

Yrs.  truly,  Adams  Jewett. 


V 
TO  ADAMS  JEWETT,  M.  D. 

Dayton,  O. 


Rossville,  4  Sept.,  1845. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  invitation  to  visit 
Dayton,  and  make  your  house  my  home,  for  a  few  days.  Were 
not  my  arrangements  already  made  for  next  Sabbath,  and  appoint- 
ments published  which  cannot  be  recalled,  (nor  can  I  procure  a 
substitute),  I  should  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  offered.  As 
it  is,  I  am  compelled  to  defer  my  anticipated  visit,  for  the  present. 
I  visited  Ripley  and  Red  Oak,  last  week,  and  delivered  three  ad- 
dresses in  that  region.  I  did  wish  and  endeavor  so  to  arrange 
my  appointments  there  and  at  Xenia,  that  I  might  take  Dayton 
in  my  route  home,  and  spend  two  or  three  days  with  you.  But 
the  notice  had  already  been  given  for  the  Greene  Co.  Anniversary ; 
so  that  plan  failed. 

Next  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  I  shall  be  at  Xenia.  They 
expect  me  on  Tuesday.  The  week  following,  (Tuesday,  etc.,)  I 
expect  to  attend  Presbytery,  in  session  at  Dunlapsville,  Indiana. 
The  week  after,  I  shall  be  at  Pleasant  Hill,  where  I  am  engaged 
to  deliver  an  address  to  the  Literary  Societies  of  Gary's  Academy. 
About  the  first  of  October  I  shall  have  leisure  to  spend  a  Sabbath 
at  your  place,  of  which  I  will  send  you  due  notice.  I  should  be 
glad  to  occupy  the  pulpit  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterian  Church 
there;  and  you  may  assure  the  Trustees  that  they  will  not  be 
dissatisfied  with  my  remarks,  nor  think  them  unsuitable  for  a 
place  of  worship. 

Accept  my  repeated  thanks  for  your  kind  offer  of  reception, 
of  which  I  shall  probably  avail  myself,  and  believe  me, 

Your  fellow  laborer  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
'  Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


VI 
TO  HIS  WIFE 

The  Assembly  of  1846 


Philadelphia,  22  May,  1846. 

My  dear  Wife : 

It  seems  a  long  time  since  I  saw  you,  though  you  left  me  but 
yesterday  morning.  I  hope  that  before  this  time  you  are  safely 
stowed  away,  with  your  precious  little  charge,  in  Stone  Cottage, 
at  home.  And  yet  I  believe  you  scarcely  feel  at  home  after  all. 
During  the  past  five  years  your  affections  have  centered  in  another 
home ;  and  however  much  you  may,  and,  I  trust,  will  be  gratified 
by  a  visit  to  your  "father's  house,"  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me 
in  saying  that  there  is  no  place  like  your  own  home.  But  you  are 
now  to  spend  four  or  five  months  in  New  England;  and  must 
therefore  endeavor  to  trouble  yourself  as  little  as  possible  with 
reflections  of  this  sort.  And  according  to  your  request,  as  it  was 
not  our  privilege  to  write  each  other  "love  letters"  previous  to 
marriage,  I  shall  endeavor  now  in  sixth  year  of  our  married  life, 
to  find  you  some  employment  in  answering  my  amatory  effusions. 
You  wished  me  to  give  you  a  series  of  letters  in  the  form  of  jour- 
nals, relating  to  the  various  events  and  employments  of  each  suc- 
cessive day.     I  begin  then  with. 

May  21.  Returned  from  the  wharf,  where  I  kissed  my  wife 
and  precious  babes  for  the  last  time,  and  from  which  I  saw  the 
boat  take  its  departure  for  the  Jersey  shore.  Solitary  and  alone 
I  wandered,  as  the  dove  from  Noah's  ark  that  found  no  rest  for 
the  sole  of  her  foot,  and  found  that  although  my  body  was  in 
Philadelphia,  my  heart  was  on  the  way  to  New  York. 

Eleven  o'clock  —  the  Assembly  convened  in  the  tenth  Presby- 
terian church  (Boardman's). 

In  the  afternoon  of  this  day.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge  of  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  was  elected  Moderator  of  the  Assembly. 
Dr.  Young  of  Danville,  Ky. ;    McFarland  of  Va. ;   Tallmadge  of 


Thomas  E.  Thomas 
Lydia  Fisher  (Mrs.  Thomas  E.  Thomas)  Leii^a  Ada  Thomas 


To  His  Wife  17 

Oglethrope  University  were  the  opposing  candidates.  A  large 
number  of  well  known  and  distinguished  men  are  members  of  this 
Assembly;  among  others,  besides  those  mentioned,  Drs.  R.  J. 
Breckenridge  and  Wm.  C.  Breckenridge,  (the  former  President 
of  Jefferson  College,  Pa. ;  the  latter  his  brother,  a  pastor  in  Louis- 
ville, Ky.)  ;  Dr.  Jno.  McDowell  of  this  city,  Dr.  McKinley,  Dr. 
Krebs  of  N.  Y.  City,  Dr.  Lindsley,  President  of  Nashville  Uni- 
versity, Dr.  Scott  of  New  Orleans,  etc.,  etc.  Brother  Scovel  and 
his  wife  are  here,  from  New  Albany,  Indiana. 

May  22.  This  morning  the  Assembly  received  and  read  letters 
from  bodies  in  correspondence  with  us :  the  General  Assembly  of 
Ireland ;  the  Synod  of  Canada ;  the  General  Association  of  Massa- 
chusetts, etc.  All  these  letters  referred  in  strong  terms  to  the 
subject  of  American  Slavery,  and  such  was  the  effect  produced 
upon  several  of  our  more  sensitive  members,  that  during  the  read- 
ing of  the  paper  from  the  Synod  of  Canada,  a  motion  was  made 
to  suspend  the  reading,  and  lay  it  upon  the  table.  On  this  motion 
your  venerable  spouse  made  his  maiden  speech  in  the  Assembly. 
The  motion  was  lost,  and  the  Synod  heard.  Then  followed  a 
motion  to  refuse  all  further  communications  with  that  body.  This 
was  lost  also.  So  far  the  South  has  been  disappointed;  and  I 
shall  be  greatly  disappointed  myself,  if  there  be  not  some  decided 
expression  of  hostility  to  slavery  before  we  adjourn.  Dr.  John  C. 
Young,  President  of  Danville  College,  Ky.,  is  chairman  of  the 
committee,  into  whose  hands  fall  the  memorials  on  slavery.  He  is 
a  decided  enemy  to  slavery.  Brother  Fullerton  and  I  are  invited 
to  meet  him  in  consultation  upon  this  matter  tomorrow  morning. 

After  adjournment  this  morning,  went  to  the  New  School 
Assembly,  which  meets  in  Albert  Barnes'  church,  Washington 
Square.  Dr.  L.  H.  Cox  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  is  Moderator.  Pie 
appears  to  be  a  very  pleasant,  kind-hearted  man ;  but,  as  I  should 
judge  from  what  I  saw  and  heard,  has  not  sufficient  gravity  and 
dignity  for  the  chairman  of  such  a  body.  He  is  remarkable  for 
an  eccentric  style.  He  prayed  that  God  would  bless  this  nation, 
and  preserve  our  great  "e  pluribus  unum".  Bro.  Dunham,  of  that 
Assembly,  tells  me  that  the  whole  afternoon  has  been  occupied 
with  the  reading  of  anti-slavery  memorials,  the  number  and  char- 
acter of  which  has  already  produced  a  powerful  impression. 


18  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

This  evening  I  attended  at  Albert  Barnes'  church  to  hear  Rev. 
Dr.  Cheever  preach  the  annual  sermon  of  the  Foreign  Evangelical 
Society.  He  failed  to  arrive  and  his  place  was  filled  by  Dr.  Leon- 
ard Bacon  of  New  Haven,  who  preached,  or  rather  read  his  famous 
sermon  on  Christian  Liberty,  from  2.  Thess.  Ill,  1,  a  sermon  which 
had  no  more  to  do  with  the  text  than  with  the  first  verse  of  the 
Koran.  The  discourse  was  written  prettily  enough,  and  was  well 
delivered,  as  anything  can  be  which  is  read,  but  it  had  evidently 
no  power  over  the  audience,  some  of  whom  slept,  and  some  retired 
before  the  conclusion  of  the  discourse.  Surely  this  mode  of 
addressing  the  public  is  destructive  to  pulpit  power. 

May  24.  This  morning  heard  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  Professor 
of  Biblical  Instruction  in  Princeton,  who  preached.  He  read  his 
sermon  closely,  and  of  course  much  of  the  efifect  was  lost.  His 
text  was  Matt.  XXVIII,  19,  20.  Go  ye  out,  etc.,  teach,  (or  make 
disciples  of)  all  nations,  etc.  He  insisted  that  the  great  duty  of 
the  church  was  to  teach  the  gospel,  and  that  in  all  suitable  methods. 
This  he  argued  from,  1.  the  fact  that  the  Gospel  was  so  extensive 
and  wonderful  a  system  of  truth  that  it  could  not  be  learned  by  a 
few  hortatory  harangues.  There  must  be  line  upon  line,  precept 
upon  precept;  and  the  science  of  Christianity  must  be  learned  in 
some  degree  as  all  other  truth  is  learned.  2.  He  showed  that  the 
church  from  the  beginning  and  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  has 
been  and  was  an  Institute  for  Christian  instruction.  3.  He  argued 
that  whenever  and  wherever  the  church  had  been  most  faithful  in 
the  work  of  instructing,  not  only  from  the  pulpit,  but  in  the  family 
circle  and  in  the  school,  there  and  then  had  she  been  most  success- 
ful in  promoting  the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

On  the  whole,  I  was  much  pleased.  It  was  the  best  discourse 
I  have  heard  east  of  the  mountains.  Dr.  H.  has  a  very  noble 
countenance,  and  one  of  the  most  amiable  expressions  I  ever  saw. 
As  a  Moderator,  he  is  calm,  dignified,  and  decisive,  as  well  as  bland 
and  courteous.  In  the  afternoon  heard  Dr.  Duffield  of  Detroit 
on  Heb.  IV :  14, 16,  and  was  very  much  disappointed.  His  sermon 
was  read  closely,  and,  though  prettily  written  in  some  respects, 
was  pointless  and  powerless.  In  the  evening,  heard  Dr.  Phillips 
of  New  York  City,  preach  the  annual  sermon  before  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions.     His  theme  was  the  conversion  of  the  Jews; 


To  His  Wife  19 

his  text  somewhere  in  eleventh  of  Hebrews.  The  discourse  was 
written  as  usual,  and  was  tedious,  heavy  and  totally  uninteresting. 
I  would  not  make  such  criticisms  were  I  not  writing  for  the  eye 
of  my  own  dear  wife,  and  for  hers  only.  I  do  not  like  to  indulge 
the  disposition  to  carp  at  sermons ;  but  a  young  preacher  coming 
from  the  West,  and  hearing  the  great  men  of  the  East  preach  such 
sermons  as  almost  all  that  I  have  heard,  cannot  easily  avoid  ex- 
pressing his  dissatisfaction  with  the  system  of  reading  instead 
of  preaching,  which  is  so  rapidly  destroying  the  eloquence  and 
power  of  the  pulpit.     (I  speak  of  pulpit  power  humano  more.) 

Thomas  E.  Thomas. 


vn 

FROM  HIS  MOTHER 


Hartford,  Conn.,  June  3,  1846. 

My  dear  Son : 

I  am  sorry  to  have  caused  you  uneasiness,  but  have  been  kept 
in  suspense  myself  from  want  of  knowing  where  to  direct  to  you : 
I  have  told  my  sister  here  I  would  direct  "To  my  Son  at  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly" ;  even  yet  I  must  leave  your  address  to  the  mercy 
of  the  postmaster. 

Till  yesterday  no  paper  reached  me  telling  the  doings  of  the 
Assembly,  and  that  contained  only  a  short  speech  by  Mr.  Fuller- 
ton.  From  the  account  I  read,  I  was  afraid  you  were  dumb  dogs 
as  Mr.  Gilliland  had  said,  or  that  they  would  not  let  you  bark ! 

My  sister  gave  me  a  most  cordial  welcome.  We  have  had 
enough  to  do  to  talk  over  the  history  of  thirty-five  years  since  we 
parted.  I  write  in  a  little,  retired  room  surrounded  with  portraits 
of  dear  friends  now  in  Glory :  here  is  dear  father  at  the  head,  with 
children  and  grand-children  and  mementos  in  abundance  of  their 
worth.  Sister  wishes  much  vol.  6  of  your  Magazine ;  she  has  had 
only  the  first  five  numbers. 

Your  affectionate  mother, 

E.  R.  Thomas. 


VIII 
TO  HIS  WIFE 


Rossville,  (Butler  Co.  Ohio)  26  June,  1846. 

Dearest : 

While  anxiously  waiting  for  your  letter  No.  3,  I  will  commence 
another,  which  I  will  not  conclude  until  I  hear  from  you  again. 

*  *  * 

*  *  * 

You  will  wish  to  know  how  I  employ  myself  in  your  absence. 
Well,  my  time  is  divided  between  study,  reading,  visiting  and  letter 
writing.  I  mean  my  working  hours  on  week  days.  Yesterday 
week,  I  preached  from  1.  Thess.  5,  17. —  Pray  without  ceasing;  — 
that  is,  as  I  endeavored  to  show,  Pray  habitually;  not  occasionally, 
casually,  at  hap-hazard ;  but  improve  all  the  proper  seasons,  stat- 
edly, for  the  performance  of  this  essential  act  of  divine  worship. 
I  then  pointed  out  the  proper  seasons,  according  to  Scripture  com- 
mand and  example:  viz,  the  Sabbath;  morning  and  evening; 
before  meals,  and  such  other  times  as  are  distinguished  for  the 
duties,  trials,  temptations,  joys  or  difficulties  which  they  bring 
with  them. 

The  house  was  full,  and  all  seemed  attentive  and  solemn.  In 
the  afternoon,  at  5  o'clock,  I  preached  from  2  Chron.  32:24,  26. 
Mr.  Earhart,  who  had  also  been  present  in  the  morning,  seemed  to 
hear  with  deep  interest.  Yesterday,  I  preached  from  1  Pet. 
3,  7,  last  clause  —  That  your  prayers  be  not  hindered.  After 
referring  to  the  fact  that  many,  and  sometimes  even  Christians, 
seemed  discouraged  in  regard  to  prayer,  by  the  fact  that  it  ap- 
peared to  do  them  little  or  no  good,  I  pointed  out  some  of  the  things 
that  hindered  our  prayers ;  as  living  in  known  sin ;  want  of  faith 
in  God  and  Christ  as  our  Mediator;  want  of  sincerity;  of  fer- 
vency; of  perseverance,  etc.  The  house  was,  as  usual,  entirely 
full ;  and  the  people  heard  with  much  attention.  I  cannot  but 
hope  that  good  is  done,  though  no  immediate  results  may  be  dis- 


22  Letters  of  Thomas  E,  Thomas 

coverable.  *  *  Mr.  Symmes,  who  was  at  Graham's  mills  yes- 
terday with  his  wife,  requested  me  to  preach  in  the  grove  each 
Sabbath  afternoon.  To  this  I  agreed, —  so  that  I  shall,  during  the 
summer,  preach  three  times  a  day  as  formerly,  in  addition  to  su- 
perintending the  Hamilton  Sabbath-School.  You  see  therefore 
that  our  people  do  not  intend  to  let  me  grow  rusty  by  inactivity. 
On  Thursday  evening,  weekly,  the  teachers  of  Hamilton  and  Ross- 
ville  schools  meet  at  my  house  to  prepare  the  lesson  for  Sabbath. 
These  public  duties;  with  the  Wednesday  prayer-meeting;  and 
the  proper  preparation  of  them;  and  weekly  pastoral  visitation, 
and  eight  or  ten  hours  a  day  of  study,  and  two  hours  of  miscellane- 
ous reading  daily ;  and  a  correspondence  with  a  score  of  persons, 
to  one  of  whom  I  write  three  closely  filled  sheets  a  week ;  and  the 
superintendence  of  affairs  and  repairs  at  home ;  and  last,  not  least, 
the  duties  of  personal  religion,  may  employ  my  time  pretty  fully 
even  during  these  long  summer  days.  Still  my  mind  is  not  so  full 
but  that  frequent  interstices  are  found  which,  for  want  of  other 
materials,  I  fill  up  with  thoughts  of  my  sweet  wife  and  precious 
little  ones, —  far,  far  away.  Now  and  then  in  the  midst  of  my 
labors, —  will  my  wife  forgive  me, —  I  cannot  but  wish  she  were 
once  more  at  my  side,  under  our  own  roof,  to  cheer  my  heart  with 
her  loving  smiles ;  especially  on  Sunday  evenings  when  I  come 
home  wearied  and  exhausted,  but  to  find  no  children  watching  for 
me  at  the  door,  or  running  to  meet  me ;  and  no  wife  to  spread  me 
a  pillow  on  the  settee,  and  read  to  me  from  the  Missionary  Herald  ; 
especially  then  do  I  feel  that  it  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone ; 
and  learn  how  unduly  I  prized  the  domestic  blessings  which  a 
kind  Providence  has  bestowed !  And  what  do  you  suppose  I  do 
on  such  sad  occasions  ?  Sit  down  and  cry  ?  —  Not  a  tear !  I 
simply  stretch  myself  along  the  sofa,  solitary  and  alone,  and  say 
to  myself, — Won't  I  be  glad  when  Lydia  and  the  babies  come  home. 

Last  week  I  went  to  Cincinnati  to  see  whether  I  could  procure 
some  volumes  from  the  Tract  Society,  for  circulation  in  this  neigh- 
borhood. You  know  that  you  suggested  that  I  should  perform  a 
sort  of  voluntary  colportage  here  during  your  absence.  I  re- 
gretted to  find,  however,  that  the  agents  who  only  could  authorize 
me  to  take  the  books,  (unless  I  paid  for  thein  in  advance,  which  I 
could  not  do),  were  absent  from  the  city.     I  bought  in  the  city, 


To  His  Wife  23 

a  Hebrew  Chrestomathy  by  Dr.  Nordheimer ;  intended  for  use  in 
the  study  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  especially  in  the  Pentateuch,  in 
connection  with  his  grammar,  which  you  know  I  value  highly.  J 
also  purchased  (forgive  me,  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation),  a 
copy  of  Dr.  Robinson's  Greek  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.  It  pre- 
sents the  Life  of  Christ  chronologically  arranged,  and  taken  from 
the  Evangelists.  I  may,  perhaps,  send  you  from  time  to  time,  such 
new  thoughts  as  occur  to  me  during  the  perusal  of  this  Harmony. 
Very  often  the  discourses  of  the  Saviour  appear  in  a  new  and 
striking  light,  when  viewed  in  immediate  connection  with  the  cir- 
cumstances which  suggested  or  accompanied  them. 
*  *  * 

By  the  way,  I  believe  I  have  never  mentioned  the  very  kind  and 
cordial  manner  in  which  I  was  welcomed  home  by  all  classes  of 
persons,  just  as  if  I  had  been  absent  a  year;  and  wherever  I  go 
and  whoever  I  meet,  the  kindest  enquiries  are  made  about  you. 
How  is  her  health;  and  the  children's?  When  will  she  return, 
etc.,  etc.  Truly  we  may  say  as  one  of  old.  We  dzvell  among  our 
own  people!  *  * 

You  ask  me  to  say  when  I  will  leave  Ohio  for  the  East ;  and 
how  long  the  people  will  consent  to  my  remaining  absent.  I  need 
not  ask  them  in  regard  to  this  latter  point ;  for  I  know  that  while 
they  would,  of  course,  wish  me  to  return  as  soon  as  possible,  they 
would  also  allow  me  to  take  whatever  time  I  thought  proper.  I 
have  not  been  absent  from  them  for  two  Sabbaths  together  for 
nearly  six  years ;  and  they  do  not  consider  my  attendance  on  the 
Assembly  as  a  vacation  from  duty.  *  *  I  should  be  glad  to  see 
Washington,  N.  H.,  and  to  fan  your  cheeks  with  the  mountain  air 
of  that  elevated  region.  I  feel  exceedingly  anxious  that  you  should 
recover  your  strength  and  youthful  bloom  once  more.  *  *  Take 
all  the  outdoor  exercise  possible,  and  don't  neglect  improving  to 
the  utmost  the  bracing  air  of  your  Yankee  hills.  H  spared  to  meet 
again  in  the  fall,  let  me  see  blooming  cheeks,  sparkling  eyes  and 
cheerful  smiles ;  the  natural  and  beautiful  indications  of  a  light 
heart.  Do  not  feel  any  hesitation,  dearest,  in  asking  as  many 
questions  as  you  please.  It  will  not  be  tedious  to  answer  them,  I 
assure  you.     As  a  Yankee,  you  know,  this  is  your  birthright ;   and 


34  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

as  a  wife, —  certainly  an  easy  privilege  to  be  conceded  by  a  hus- 
band. 

Do  I  "remember  what  a  wakeful,  fidgetty,  little  thing  Lizzie 
used  to  be"?  I  hope  so.  I  should  have  a  very  short  memory 
otherwise. 

Lizzie  :  Your  father  never  forgets  you.  You  must  obey  mother 
and  help  her  all  you  can.  Ask  her  to  teach  you  about  Jesus,  who 
once  took  little  children  like  you  and  Ally  in  his  arms,  laid  his  hands 
upon  them,  and  blessed  them.  One  of  these  little  children,  it  is 
said,  was  called  Ignatius ;  and  he  afterwards  lived  to  be  a  very 
good  and  useful  man.  Love  Mary  and  little  brother.  Do  not 
trouble  poor  mother  when  she  is  busy.  Play  prettily  in  the  open 
air,  under  the  shady  trees.  Do  not  go  near  the  horse,  nor  let  the 
dog  bite  you.  Do  not  hunt  the  little  chickens,  nor  take  Ally  into 
any  danger.  Be  a  dear,  good  girl  and  remember  that  if  God  pleases 
you  shall  soon  see  me  again, 

Your  own  dear  Father. 

And  now  goodbye,  sweet  wife,  goodbye,  which  really  means, 
and  so  I  mean  it,  God  he  zvith  ye. 

Adieu,  I  commend  you  to  God.  And  remember  that  I  am  and 
shall  be  while  our  lives  last, 

Your  affectionate  Husband, 

Thos.  E.  Thomas. 


IX 

TO  MR.  NATHANIEL  FISHER 

His  Father-in-La\s^ 


Dear  Sir:  Rossville,  (Hamilton)   O.,  15  Aug.  1849. 

When  I  wrote  you  I  was  in  good  health ;  but  in  a  day  or  two, 
I  was  attacked  with  cholera,  and  brought,  in  a  very  few  hours,  to 
the  borders  of  eternity.  At  first,  I  had  no  idea  that  I  should  die ; 
but  in  the  course  of  a  day  I  was  almost  persuaded  that  my  race 
was  run,  and  that  the  Master  had  sent  me  word  to  enter  into  rest. 
Through  the  grace  of  God  I  had  no  fears  of  death,  but  rather  felt 
desirous  to  be  absent  from  the  body  and  to  be  present  with  Christ. 
I  could  most  quietly  have  closed  my  eyes  on  time,  resting  in  the 
arms  of  a  precious  Savior.  But  the  Lord  had  ordered  otherwise; 
the  crisis  passed  and  I  recovered  as  it  seemed  with  great  rapidity. 
*  *  I  have  much  reason  for  gratitude  that  all  the  sickness  sent 
upon  my  family  fell  upon  myself.  My  dear  wife  has  enjoyed  good 
health,  although  worn  down  by  constant  anxiety  and  toil. 


*  * 


Dear  Sir  •  ^^^  September,  1849. 

Since  I  last  wrote  you  I  have  received  from  the  Trustees  of 
Hanover  College  a  notification  of  my  election  to  the  Presidency  of 
that  Institution ;  and  after  mature  reflection  and  consultation  with 
my  friends,  I  have  concluded  to  accept  the  appointment.  Both 
Lydia  and  I  are  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  my  duty.  We 
have,  indeed,  many  inducements  to  remain  here.  *  *  On  the  other 
hand,  I  have  never  expected  to  spend  my  days  in  Hamilton,  and 
therefore  have  never  been  installed.  I  have  always  taken  great 
pleasure  and  have  had  a  good  degree  of  success  in  teaching.  Those 
who  know  me  best  seem  to  judge  me  adapted  to  some  such  station 
as  that  to  which  I  am  now  called.  My  most  impartial  and  judi- 
cious friends,  including  Dr.  Bishop,  the  first  President;  Dr.  Mac- 
Master,  the  last  President  of  Miami  University;    Dr.  Brecken- 


26  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

ridge  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  others,  who  are  intimately  acquainted 
with  Hanover  College,  have  advised  me  to  accept  this  call.  Many 
of  the  Trustees  of  Hanover  are  personal  friends  of  long  standing ; 
some  of  them  old  classmates  in  college  at  Oxford.  The  members 
of  the  Faculty  with  whom  I  am  to  be  associated  are  also  personal 
friends  whom  I  have  known  for  years.  The  College  itself  is  under 
the  care  of  two  Synods  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  being 
the  only  college  so  controlled  in  the  free  States  in  the  West,  is 
likely  to  secure  a  large  support  and  patronage,  especially  from 
Presbyterian  families  which  are  by  no  means  the  worst  in  the 
world.  It  has  been  in  existence  since  1827,  when  the  Salem  Pres- 
bytery established  it  as  a  Grammar  School;  and  now,  after  various 
reverses,  it  is  placed  upon  a  safe  footing;  having  collected  during 
the  past  two  years,  a  new  endowment  of  $30,000 ;  having  an  annual 
income  of  nearly  $4,000 ;  and  having  had  in  the  last  year,  180  stu- 
dents. The  Village  of  Hanover  is  located  on  the  Indiana  side  of 
the  Ohio  River,  100  miles  below  Cincinnati ;  six  miles  below  Mad- 
ison, the  largest  city  in  the  State,  and  fifty  miles  above  Louisville 
and  New  Albany.  This  situation  renders  the  College  easily  ac- 
cessible from  the  South  and  West.  The  village  stands  upon  a 
bluff  some  500  or  600  feet  above  the  Ohio,  and  one  mile  back  from 
the  river,  of  which  the  new  College  buildings  will  command  a  view 
for  fifteen  miles.  It  contains  300  inhabitants,  a  very  quiet,  orderly, 
religious  people.  It  is  also  remarkable  for  healthiness,  and  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  romantic  scenery  to  be  found  in  the  West. 
The  only  building  belonging  to  the  Institution  is  very  shabby ; 
being  the  shattered  remains  of  one  that  was  almost  destroyed  by  a 
tornado  some  years  since ;  but  arrangements  are  already  moving 
to  erect  a  large  and  handsome  edifice  in  the  coming  Spring.  The 
opportunity  of  usefulness  afforded  in  the  instruction  of  one  or 
two  hundred  young  men,  a  considerable  number  of  whom  are  to 
be  the  future  ministers  of  our  church,  is  much  greater  than  that 
of  any  ordinary  pastoral  charge  ;  and  although  much  responsibility 
belongs  to  such  a  position  as  that  which  I  am  to  occupy,  yet  I  hope 
that  I  shall  find  it  a  source  of  real  satisfaction.  The  village  is. 
indeed,  a  very  plain,  primitive,  back-woods  affair ;  and  some 
inconvenience  must  be  expected  at  least  for  a  few  years.  I  remem- 
ber very  well,  however,  when  there  was  but  one  paved  street  in 


To  Mr.  Nathaniel  Fisher  37 

Cincinnati.  With  respect  to  the  means  of  support,  I  am  informed 
that  the  College  is  free  from  debt,  and  during  the  past  year  has 
been  able  to  punctually  meet  all  its  engagements.  When  I  con- 
sented to  go  to  Hanover  in  July,  the  salary  of  the  President  was 
but  $800 ;  after  my  election  the  Trustees  advanced  it  to  $1,000 
per  annum.  Considering  that  other  members  of  the  Faculty  have 
lived  there  comfortably  for  $600,  I  think  I  may  be  satisfied  in  this 
respect. 

Love  from  all  to  all. 

Your  affec .  Son, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


X 
TO  MISS  SOPHRONIA  S.  FISHER 


Hanover  College,  Ind.,  24  Feby.,  1851. 

My  dear  Sister  Sophronia: 

If  I  have  never  before  written  to  you,  which  is  the  fact  I  be- 
lieve, it  is  not  because  I  have  forgotten  the  little  ten  year  old 
beauty,  who  looked  so  strangely  upon  me  when  I  came  to  carry 
off  her  sister.  That  little  beauty,  I  know,  has  grown  up  to  tall 
womanhood ;  the  mind  has  developed  with  the  body ;  and  perhaps 
could  you  and  I  see  the  twofold  effects  of  the  past  ten  years,  we 
should  hardly  know  each  other.  And  yet,  through  our  mutual 
friend,  my  good  wife,  we  have  kept  pretty  well  acquainted  with 
the  changes  of  each  other's  life.  I  often  wish  I  could  look  into 
that  beautiful  Yankee  nursery  where  you  have  been  immured  so 
many  years ;  but  from  which,  I  believe,  the  most  of  you  emerge  to 
take  the  veil,  not  of  sanctity,  but  of  matrimony :  well  your  turn 
will  come  some  day;  and  then,  perhaps,  you  will  wend  your  way 
westward,  like  the  star  of  Empire,  to  shine  upon  the  darkness  of 
us  outside  barbarians.  Wife  tells  me  you  are  to  spend  the  winter 
with  us,  after  graduating.  I  hope  so ;  but  I  should  wish  to  pre- 
pare your  mind,  that  you  may  not  be  shocked  by  a  too  sudden  view 
of  western  institutions.        ( 

Imagine,  then,  a  river  as  unlike  your  beautiful  Connecticut  as 
possible ;  whose  waters  surpass  it  in  length,  width,  and  depth,  as 
far  as  the  lovely  banks  of  the  former  surpass  the  forest-covered 
hills,  and  corn-covered  banks  of  the  latter.  Imagine  yourself  put 
off  from  a  yawl  upon  a  muddy  beach,  where  you  sink  eighteen  or 
twenty  inches  into  the  soil ;  after  extricating  yourself  from  which, 
you  walk  a  mile  and  a  half  "up  a  high  hill",  like  that  over  which 
an  ancient  tried  to  heave  "a  huge  round  stone".  Ascending  the 
hill,  you  are  struck  with  a  certain  wildness  of  scenery  in  the  singu- 
lar gorge  through  which  winds  the  rough  road,  a  wildness  which 
you  would  term  romantic,  had  you  not  become   familiar  with 


To  Miss  Sophronia  S.  Fisher  29 

Mt.  Tom,  Mt.  Holyoke,  Wachusett  and  fifty  other  prominencies 
whose  cleft  sides  have  vast  gorges  and  precipices,  where  our  Httle 
western  gully  would  be  ashamed  to  be  seen.  The  water  does 
indeed  trickle  most  sweetly,  especially  in  a  moonlight  summer 
night,  over  the  numerous  surrounding  cascades ;  and  the  broken 
masses  of  rock,  scattered  like  castles  ruined,  over  the  steep  hill- 
sides, remind  one  of  the  Rhine  banks,  the  Appenine  passes,  etc. : 
but  then,  you  have  heard  water  trickle  before ;  your  feet  are  mud- 
dy; the  road  is  dirty;  and  probably  the  rain  is  trickling  down 
from  the  points  of  your  umbrella ;  and  on  the  whole,  the  scenery 
is  not  so  wonderful  as  some  imaginative  persons  might  suppose. 
Well,  plodding  along,  and  wishing  that  some  Yankee  would  teach 
us  Great- Westerners  how  to  make  wharf-boats,  omnibuses  and 
good  roads,  you  begin  to  emerge  toward  the  top  of  the  hill ;  and 
passing  Young's  tan  yard  with  a  small  shoemaker's  shop  adjoin- 
ing, you  perceive  for  the  first  time,  the  spire  of  the  university 
building.  There  that  edifice  stands  confessed ;  —  a  long,  dingy, 
two-storied,  whitish,  brick  afifair,  with  a  front  of  tmly  Hanoverian 
Architecture.  Satisfied  with  one  glance  at  the  College,  you  look 
around  for  the  village.  *  * 

Our  domestic  residences,  are,  as  the  poet  says,  "like  angels 
visits,  few  and  far  between".  And  the  worst  of  the  matter  is,  that 
on  close  inspection,  one  is  sorely  tempted  to  wish  for  the  honor  of 
the  town,  that  they  were  fewer  and  farther  apart. 


And  now  after  a  little  conversation,  the  truth  breaks  in  upon 
your  mind,  for  the  first  time,  that  the  glory  of  Hanover  lies  in  its 
one  hundred  and  fifty  young  men,  equal  in  native  strength  of  mind, 
in  purity  of  character,  in  intellectual  acquisitions  and  wealth  of 
affection,  to  any  like  number  who  can  be  picked  out  of  any  part 
of  Christendom ;  young  men,  some  of  whom  are  to  be  Legislators, 
Senators,  Judges,  or  better  yet.  Philosophers,  Ministers,  Mission- 
aries, ranking  with  the  very  first  men  of  their  day  in  respectability, 
influence  and  usefulness;  and  last,  not  least,  exceedingly  suitable 
as  husbands  for  the  graduates  of  some  Yankee  Female  Seminary. 


XI 
TO  HON.  JOHN  M.  MILLIKIN 

Hamilton,  O. 


Hanover  College,  26  Feby.,  1851. 
My  dear  Sir: 

You  have  already  heard  from  Minor  that  God  has  been  pleased 
graciously  to  pour  out  His  Spirit  upon  us  ;  and  that  a  considerable 
number  of  young  persons  are  indulging  a  hope  of  having  passed 
from  death  unto  life.  Of  about  80  students  who  are  connected 
with  our  regular  college  classes,  now  on  the  ground,  only  four 
remain  without  apparent  conversion.  Every  member  of  Minor's 
class,  the  Freshmen ;  every  member  of  the  Senior  class ;  more 
than  half  the  Juniors  are  hopefully  Christians.  Minor  has  told 
you,  I  doubt  not,  his  own  experience  of  this  matter;  and  I  may 
add  that  he  gives  very  delightful  evidence  of  a  true  conversion. 
This  work  has  been,  I  trust,  truly  of  God,  and  not  of  man.  No 
unusual  means  by  way  of  preparation  were  employed  by  the  church 
here.  The  revival  came  upon  us  like  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a 
clear  sky ;  though,  unlike  that,  it  was  noiseless  and  quiet.  But 
one  sermon  has  been  preached  in  addition  to  our  usual  religious 
exercises.  We  held  evening  prayer  meetings  for  the  most  of  one 
week;  and  inquirers  were  invited  to  remain.  No  attempt  was 
made  to  produce  excitement ;  nor  has  there  been  any.  I  have  seen 
several  revivals  of  religion ;  but  not  one  where  the  divine  power 
was  more  conspicuous.  These  facts  lead  us  to  hope  that  the 
results  will  show  the  work  to  have  been  genuine ;  though  among 
so  many,  (some  seventy),  mostly  young  men  (all  single,  for  not 
a  married  person  has  been  awakened),  it  would  be  quite  unusual 
if  some  were  not  deceived  by  mere  sympathy.  I  should  add  that 
our  regular  college  duties  have  been  performed,  as  if  no  such  work 
was  in  progress. 

Yours, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


To  Hon.  John  M.  Millikin  31 

NOTE  —  Few  pupils  of  my  father  ever  won  and  kept  a  place  so  near 
his  heart,  or  were  so  lamented  in  their  death,  as  Minor  Millikin.  More 
than  most  others,  he  took  up  and  wore  with  pride  in  daily  life,  all  that  Dr. 
Thomas  taught  and  valued  most.  He  was  the  grandson  of  Dr.  Daniel  Milli- 
kin and  Joseph  Hough,  two  of  the  prominent  pioneers  of  Southern  Ohio; 
and  was  the  son  of  Maj.  Jno.  M.  Millikin,  of  Hamilton.  After  attending 
College  at  Hanover,  he  was  graduated  at  Miami  University,  in  1854 ;  at- 
tended the  law  school  of  Harvard  University ;  studied  law  with  Gov. 
Thomas  Corwin ;  married,  at  Oxford,  O.,  Miss  Mary  Mollyneaux,  and 
made  a  European  tour,  and  after  returning,  was  engaged  in  literary  work, 
when  roused  by  the  tap  of  the  drum  in  1861.  He  soon  became  Colonel  of 
the  First  Ohio  Cavalry.  Minor  Millikin  was  always  a  trained  athlete;  an 
accomplished  swordsman,  and  fond  of  horsemanship.  I  think  in  uniform 
he  was  the  most  soldierly  figure  I  ever  saw ;  and  he  always  seemed  to  me 
a  knight  of  chivalry,  dropped  down  on  times,  when,  in  things  pertaining 
to  war  or  peace,  "the  age  of  chivalry  had  gone."  One  time  in  Dayton,  he, 
in  uniform,  and  accompanied  by  Dr.  Cyrus  Falconer,  an  old-time  elder  of 
the  Hamilton  Church,  called  at  our  house,  and  I  led  them  to  Dr.  Thomas' 
church  study,  where  they  found  him  surrounded  and  almost  covered  with 
books,  engaged  in  writing  his  lectures  on  the  prophecies  of  Daniel.  The 
sight  gave  them  much  merriment  and  him  no  less  pleasure ;  for  he  leaped 
over  the  books,  clasped  each  by  the  hand,  exclaiming,  "What !  to  kill  and 
to  cure !   to  kill  and  to  cure  !" 

Col.  Millikin  was  one  of  the  few  soldiers  of  his  rank,  that  Ohio  sent 
to  the  war,  who  died  in  a  hand  to  hand  contest  with  an  enemy.  At  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro,  his  brigade  of  cavalry  saved  the  ammunition  train 
of  Gen.  Rosencrans'  army,  fighting  for  hours,  against  fearful  odds  part  of 
Wheeler's  Confederate  horsemen,  who  had  been  sent  around  our  army 
for  its  capture.  A  remarkable  letter  of  his  father,  Maj.  Jno.  M.  Millikin, 
to  my  father,  is  lost ;  in  which  he  described  his  son's  death  with  great 
detail  of  place  and  circumstance;  how  w^hen  surrounded,  he  refused  to 
surrender,  but  swung  his  sabre  so  no  one  dare  approach  him,  till  some  one 
from  behind,  shot  him  with  a  shot-gun,  in  the  neck  fatally.  I  only  remember 
of  this  letter  one  burst  of  grief  and  pride,  ending  with  these  words,  "He 
died  as  I  had  a  right  to  expect  him  to  die,  in  a  cavalry  charge,  at  the  head 
of  his  regiment,  sword  in  hand  and  far  in  among  the  enemy." 

In  a  letter  not  now  in  our  possession,  Dr.  Thomas  thus  spoke  of  him : 
"No  loss  of  life  in  this  sad  war  has  so  deeply  afflicted  me.  I  loved 
Minor,  as  I  have  loved  but  few  friends.  The  recollection  of  his  cheerful, 
intelligent  countenance;  of  his  manly  form,  his  pleasant  voice;  of  his 
clear,  active,  cultivated  mind;  his  gentlemanly  bearing;  his  warm,  affec- 
tionate heart;  above  all,  of  his  sincere  piety,  and  the  purity  of  his  life, 
will  remain  with  me  while  memory  fulfills  its  office."     (A.  A.  T.) 


XII 
FROM  THOS.  J.  COGLEY,  M.  D. 


Madison,  Ind.,  May  28,  1853, 
My  dear  Sir: 

Your  very  kind  letter  of  the  25th  is  received,  in  which  you  say, 
"I  disHke  to  introduce  scientific  illustrations  into  sermons,  (thoug-h 
convinced  that  a  more  frequent  use  of  them  is  both  rational  and 
scriptural),  because  I  know  that  a  daily  familiarity  with  scientific 
or  professional  studies  is  necessary,  if  one  would  avoid  blunders 
in  extempore  discourse". 

I  would  not  have  troubled  you  with  this  note  only  that  I  feel 
a  strong  desire  to  urge  you  to  introduce  such  illustrations,  and  if 
possible,  introduce  them  more  frequently;  and  be  assured  you 
can  do  so  without  the  least  risk  of  blundering. 

It  is  assuredly  one  of  the  great  charms  of  your  discourses,  that 
you  generally  illustrate  your  positions,  by  fundamental  principles 
in  philosophy  and  science,  which  in  themselves  are  perfectly  charm- 
ing, and  serve  to  rivet  the  attention,  in  a  manner  which  nothing 
else  can  equal. 

Transfusion  is  practised  in  this  way.  The  blood  is  drawn  from 
the  usual  place  in  the  arm  of  a  healthy,  stout  man ;  is  caught  in 
a  vessel;  and,  while  warm,  is  drawn  into  a  syringe,  and  injected 
into  the  corresponding  vein  of  the  patient.  It  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  avoid  injecting  air  into  the  veins,  in  this  operation; 
it  causes  death  the  moment  it  reaches  the  heart. 

But  your  point  was  as  well,  indeed  it  was  better,  illustrated  by 
supposing  the  use  of  arterial  blood.  No  Sir,  do  not  think  of 
abandoning  one  of  the  greatest  charms  of  your  preaching;  you 
may  well  trust  that  memory  of  yours  in  that  as  in  all  other  respects ; 
it  is  incomparably  better  than  any  I  have  ever  known.  If  I  had 
your  memory  with  my  own  industry  and  perseverance,  ambition 
and  desire  for  knowledge,  I  could  attain  the  highest  position  in 
medicine.     My  memory  is  good,  but  yours  is  superlatively  good. 


XIII 
TO  PROFESSOR  JARED  M.  STONE 


New  Albany,  17  Feb.,  1855. 
My  dear  Brother  Stone : 

I  thank  you  for  the  very  kind  and  fraternal  letter  which'  I 
received  a  week  or  two  since.  An  interchange  of  compliments, 
not  to  say  flatteries,  would  be  useless  and  contemptible ;  but  the 
respect,  confidence  and  afifection  of  those  with  whom  I  have  been 
long  associated,  and  who  therefore  know  me  best,  is  one  of  the 
richest  recompenses  of  life. 

There  is  no  remark  in  your  letter,  so  far  as  I  remember,  which 
calls  for  any  particular  reply.  I  wrote  a  part  of  my  last  letter 
under  the  impression  that  you  had  probably  determined  to  seek  a 
pasitorate.  That  impression  being  removed  by  the  explanation 
you  have  given,  I  need  only  add  that  yoii  understand  my  position 
in  respect  to  the  presidency  of  Hanover.  I  agree  with  you  that 
your  proper  field  of  labor  is  a  college.  Not  that  you  would  not 
find  a  pastoral  charge  hereafter,  as  heretofore,  pleasant  and  use- 
ful. But  your  tastes  and  habits  are,  in  my  judgment,  more 
adapted  to  college  duties;  and  surely  no  station  in  life  is  more 
honorable,  or  responsible.  Our  church  colleges,  especially,  where 
so  many  Christian  youth  are  assembled,  and  where  so  many  are 
prepared  for  the  Gospel  ministry,  are  worthy  of  our  most  zealous 
labors  and  fervent  prayers.  How  little  of  the  talent  of  the  rising 
generation  is  consecrated  to  Christ !  How  much  needs  to  be  done 
to  bring  educated  young  men  under  the  influence  of  the  Gospel ! 
Of  scarcely  less  importance  is  it  to  secure  a  real  and  thorough 
education  to  those  who  are  themselves  to  be  the  Christian  teachers 
of  thousands.  The  Presbyterian  Church,  far  from  raising  the 
ministerial  standard  too  high,  stands  in  great  need  of  a  truly 
learned  as  well  as  pious  ministry.  I  say  she  needs  them.  How 
little  real  scholarship  is  to  be  found  among  our  ministers !  Not- 
withstanding our  colleges,  universities,  and  theological  seminaries, 


34  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

how  many  men  have  we  who  are  capable  of  reading  inteUigently, 
and  expounding  properly,  that  Holy  Word,  which  in  its  original 
tongues,  is  the  ultimate  standard  of  faith  and  practice.  Leigh, 
in  his  Critica  Sacra,  commends  the  British  Parliament  of  his  day, 
because  in  their  zeal  for  a  competent  ministry,  they  had  required 
an  examination  of  candidates  as  to  their  ability  to  open  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  Scriptures  and  render  their  contents  into  Latin !  How 
many  of  our  candidates, —  I  do  not  say  ministers, —  could  stand 
the  application  of  such  a  test?  Yet  this  was  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  We  want  far  more  care  and  drilling  in  the  elements, 
especially  of  the  languages ;  a  far  more  critical  examination  of 
authors  in  the  advanced  classes ;  a  better  understanding  of  idio- 
matic expressions  ;  in  short,  a  real  knowledge,  instead  of  that  mere 
nominal,  superficial  smattering,  with  which  so  many  even  of  our 
graduates  are  content. 

To  accomplish  such  a  work  is  an  end  deserving  all  our  toils 
and  sacrifices.  We  may  receive  a  wretched  pecuniary  recompense 
here  ;  but  there  is  a  certain  and  satisfying  reward  hereafter.  Cer- 
tainly learning  without  piety  is  worthless  ;  but  piety  without  learn- 
ing will  never  qualify  men  for  a  service  in  which  one  must  be  "apt 
to  teach".  And  sham  learning  is  rather  worse  than  no  learning; 
for  it  prevents  its  unhappy  possessor  from  becoming  conscious  of 
his  deficiencies. 

I  need  not  multiply  words  on  such  a  subject  to  you  ;  but  I  feel 
more  and  more  impressed,  by  years  of  experience  and  observation, 
with  the  fact  that  our  common  standard  of  scholarship  is  miser- 
ably low,  so  far  as  the  ministry  is  concerned.  How  shall  it  be  ele- 
vated ? 


XIV 
TO  REV.  JACOB  COOPER 


New  Albany,  Ind.,  11th  May,  1855. 
My  dear  Friend : 

Your  first  letter  reached  me  during  the  sickness  of  our  young- 
est son,  a  boy  of  almost  three  years  last  winter.  He  died  on  the 
18th  of  April.  Your  second  was  written  on  the  25th  April,  and 
reached  me  after  my  return  from  Indianapolis.  The  death  of 
Ebbie,  (he  died  of  scarlet  fever),  was  followed  by  less  severe 
attacks  of  disease  upon  two  others  of  our  children.  All  are  well 
now.  These  circumstances  must  account  for  any  apparent  delay 
in  replying  to  your  favors.  As  to  the  latter,  I  will  write  this  after- 
noon to  Dr.  Young  of  Danville,  and  forward  the  recommendation 
you  desire,  which  I  do  with  great  pleasure,  and  hope  you  will  suc- 
ceed in  your  application.  Should  you  fail  there,  I  shall  take  pains 
to  secure  you  a  similar  situation  elsewhere. 

As  to  the  subject  of  your  first  letter,  in  the  midst  of  the  intense 
anxieties  which  overwhelmed  me  when  I  received  it,  I  could  not 
give  it  due  attention ;  and  my  repeated  and  protracted  absence 
from  home  since  Ebbie's  death  has  interfered  with  that  full  con- 
sideration which  its  importance  demands.  To  be  successful,  the 
proposed  work  must  be  the  labor  of  a  whole  life,  most  diligently 
employed.  One  ought  to  be  well  assured,  as  to  duty,  before  he 
devotes  his  entire  life  to  any  single  object.  Now,  that  critical 
labor  upon  the  text  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  has  heretofore 
rendered  invaluable  and  indispensable  service  to  the  cause  of 
Christ,  is  unquestionable.  But  whether,  after  all  the  toil  that 
has  been  expended  upon  that  department,  from  the  days  of  Eras- 
mus, Beza,  the  Stephens,  etc.,  down  to  Griesbach,  Scholz,  etc..  any- 
thing remains  to  be  done,  demanding  the  energies  of  a  life,  is 
worthy  of  inquiry.  Again,  is  the  way  clear  for  such  a  work ;  is 
there  a  demand  for  a  critical  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  such 
as  to  enable  one  to  secure  the  necessary  pecuniary  support  ?     It  is 


36  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

not  long  since  Bagster  first  introduced  the  edition  of  Scholz  to  the 
British  public.  Within  three  years  Dr.  Tregelles  of  Oxford,  Eng- 
land (I  believe)  issued  proposals  for  a  new  critical  Testament,  to 
be  printed  in  quarto  form,  etc.  He  was  said  to  have  spent  many 
years  in  preparation,  and  to  be  admirably  qualified  for  the  task.  I 
saw  proof  sheets  and  subscribed  for  a  copy,  which  the  agent  said 
would  be  forthcoming  in  a  twelvemonth ;  but  I  have  heard  nothing 
more  of  the  work.  Has  it  ever  been  issued?  Or  did  it  fail  for 
want  of  subscribers  ? 

A  third  inquiry^  must  be,  have  you  the  means  adequate  to  the 
completion  of  such  an  enterprise?  Have  you  access  to  any  new 
MSS.  ?  Or  can  you  give  MSS.  formerly  examined  a  more  search- 
ing examination?  Of  course  I  know  not  what  information  you 
may  have  on  this  point ;  what  new  sources  of  critical  evidence  you 
may  have  discovered ;  what  more  than  Californian  and  Australian 
mine  you  may  have  opened.  To  tread  the  old  track  of  former 
critics,  and  glean  their  leavings,  would  hardly  repay  the  labor ;  — ■ 
at  least  I  should  suppose  so,  without  pretending  to  any  special 
acquaintance  with  the  field,  as  I  suppose  you  have. 

I  merely  suggest  these  considerations,  for  the  present,  hoping 
to  have  further  opportunity  for  remark,  when  I  shall  have  learned 
more  fully  the  resources  upon  which  you  rely. 


XV 
FROM  MR.  JAMES  R.  GARRISON 


Hamilton,  O.,  Sept.  5th,  1855. 
D.  D.  Thomas, 

Much  loved  Friend : 

I  write  you  but  a  line  this  morning  in  haste,  stating  the  almost 
certain  removal  of  Rev.  Mr.  Christian  from  Hamilton :  a  word  to 
the  wise  is  sufficient.  I  think  there  are  men  enough  that  cannot 
preach,  to  teach.  God  is  opening  the  way  for  you  to  come  home ; 
you  have  been  long  enough  away,  I  think. 

Brother  T.  E.  I  thought  of  writing  to  you  often :  nothing  has 
deterred  me  but  my  poor  scholarship :  this  is  voluntary  of  myself. 
Your  friends  are  well.  There  is  nothing  more  than  common-place 
news.  My  family  is  well,  through  the  mercy  of  God:  thanks  to 
Him.  Our  Synod  meets  at  Chillicothe  on  the  27th,  as  you  are 
aware.     God  willing,  I  may  be.  there. 


Katherine  Parrott  (Mrs.  Walter  S.  Gorringe)  Thomas  M.  Parrott 

Mary  May  Thomas  (Mrs.  Edwin  A.  Parrott) 
Elizabeth  Kemper  Parrott  Ethel  Parrott  (Mrs.  Edwin  Farmer) 


XVI 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER  AT  SCHOOL 


New  Albany  Theo.  Sem.,  30  Sept.,  1856. 

My  dear  Daughter  Mary: 

We  have  received  your  first  letter,  and  are  glad  to  hear  that 
you  are  pleased  v^ith  your  situation  and  employment.  That  you 
would  be  pleased  with  such  advantages  as  you  there  enjoy,  of 
study,  of  select  companions,  and  of  agreeable  and  qualified  in- 
structors, I  had  no  doubt.  You  are  your  father's  daughter  as 
well  as  your  mother's ;  and  both  of  them  were  ever  fond  of  study. 
I  remember  well  when  I  first  heard  that  I  should  enjoy  the  privi- 
lege of  attending  a  college.  I  had  gone  with  my  father  to  a  com- 
munion at  Mr.  Gilliland's  church  in  Bethel,  where  Dr.  Bishop  was 
also  present.  On  Saturday  night  I  had  retired  to  bed  early.  Dr. 
B.  and  father  came  up  an  hour  later;  and  supposing  me  to  be 
asleep,  (for  I  was  in  the  same  room),  they  entered  into  conversa- 
tion about  my  education.  At  length  Dr.  B.  said  to  father, — "Well, 
send  Ebenezer  to  college  next  term ;  and  I  will  provide  the  means 
of  paying  his  board."  He  had  no  sooner  uttered  the  words  than 
my  head  swam  like  a  top.  The  thought  that  I  should  go  to  college 
made  me  dizzy  with  joy.  And  surely  there  was  reason  for  it. 
The  opportunity  of  cultivating  the  mind  at  an  early  period  of  life 
is  an  inestimable  privilege.  Our  soul  is  our  noble  part.  Bodily, 
we  are  of  the  same  dust  with  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  the  fowls 
of  heaven,  (Gen.  2:19)  of  nobler  form  and  aspect,  indeed  as  Ovid 
says, 

Pronaque  cum  spectant  animalia  caetera  terram ; 
Os  homini  sublime  dedit:   coelumque  tueri 
Jussit,  et  erectos  ad  sidera  tollere  vultus, 

(you  read  Latin  now;  and  may  take  this  as  the  first  extra  lesson 
set  by  your  father :  he  hopes  to  give  you  many  more  hereafter,  as 
well  as  some  in  Greek  and  Hebrew),  or  to  use  the  more  familiar 
language  of  Milton,  respecting  our  first  parents. 


40  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

"Two  of  far  nobler  shape  erect  and  tall 
Godlike  erect !  *  * 
His  large,  fair  front  and  eye  sublime,"  etc. 

See  the  whole  passage,  Par.  Lost,  Book  4,  line  228.  Bodily  "all 
go  to  one  place  :  all  are  of  the  dust,  and  all  turn  to  dust  again."  "But 
who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth  upward,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  beast  that  goeth  downward  to  the  earth  ?"  (Eccl.  3  :20,  21) . 
It  is  our  spirit  that  allies  us  to  the  higher  order  of  beings,  "thrones 
and  dominions  and  principalities  and  powers",  (Col.  1:16),  that 
allies  us  even  to  God  himself,  for  "God  is  a  spirit"  (Jno.  4:24)  ; 
not  a  mere  spiritual  nature,  however,  for  in  that  we  are  like  devils, 
as  well  as  angels ;  but  a  cultivated  and  sanctified  spirituality  is 
that  which  makes  us  "partakers  of  a  divine  nature"  (2  Pet.  1:4). 
It  is  the  "new  man"  which  after  God,  i.  e.,  (id  est  you  know,  or 
that  is)  after  the  image  of  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and 
true  holiness  (Eph.  4:24),  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after 
the  image  of  Him  that  created  us"  (Col.  3  :18). 

Our  spirit,  therefore,  in  itself  considered,  in  its  nature  and 
capabilities  is  that  which  makes  a  resemblance  to  our  Maker  attain- 
able to  us.  The  cultivation  of  that  spirit,  not  mere  human  cul- 
ture, indeed,  but  its  renezval  in  knozvledge,  righteousness  and  holi- 
ness is  that  which  makes  us  children  of  a  Heavenly  Father, 
Human  culture  is  valuable  chiefly  as  fitting  us  for  a  higher  degree 
of  spiritual  improvement  and  enjoyment.  We  must  not  Hmit  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whose  office  it  is  to  enlighten  and  sanctify 
the  soul ;  but  ordinarily,  a  high  degree  of  sanctification  is  not 
found  associated  with  a  low  degree  of  mental  cultivation.  Of 
course,  I  do  not  mean  that  the  most  intelligent  are  usually  the  most 
pious ;  you  see  proof  to  the  contrary  daily :  on  the  other  hand, 
however,  you  do  not  expect  the  very  highest  style  of  Christian 
spirituality  among  really  converted  Sandwich  Islanders  or  South 
Africans.  As  the  existence  of  a  nature  such  as  that  of  our  spirit, 
in  distinction  from  that  of  lower  animals,  is  the  essential  basis  for 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  sanctification ;  so  a  good  degree  of 
merely  human  mental  cultivation,  the  discipline  and  development 
of  the  faculties  themselves,  seem  necessary  to  a  high  degree  of 
sanctification.  For  the  Spirit  of  God  renews  us  first  in  knowledge, 
then  in  righteousness  and  holiness.     I  speak,  observe,  of  the  work 


To  His  Daughter  at  School  41 

of  sanctiUcation,  not  of  regeneration.  The  latter  is  an  act,  not  a 
work ;  instantaneous,  not  gradual ;  complete,  not  progressive.  In 
the  former,  God  operates  tiipon  the  heart  and  will  through  the 
understanding.  But  the  understanding  of  a  creature  is  necessarily 
limited  by  nature.  Its  power  to  comprehend  truth,  any  truth, 
divine  or  human,  is  further  limited  by  the  extent  of  its  develop- 
ment and  exercise.  An  infant  Napoleon  would  not  understand 
Euclid.  The  understanding  of  a  full  grown  but  untaught  bar- 
barian could  not  grasp  the  higher  truths  of  science.  And  while, 
as  I  say  again,  we  must  not  limit  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  when  God  designs  to  bestow  the  highest 
degree  of  spiritual  illumination,  there  he  will  previously  afford  the 
opportunity  for  mental  improvement  of  a  merely  human  sort. 

If  this  be  true  then,  as  I  said  before,  such  an  opportunity  is  to 
be  prized  chiefly  because  it  capacitates  us  for  receiving  in  larger 
measure  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  yet  how 
seldom  is  education  regarded,  much  less  valued  in  this  its  highest 
relation !  Perhaps  the  very  idea  of  such  a  relation  has  never 
occurred  to  the  mind  even  of  Christian  parents.  Evidently  it 
should  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  our  plans  and  labors  with  refer- 
ence to  our  own  education  or  that  of  our  children.  By  this  fact, 
all  our  systems  of  training  should  be  tested  and  directed.  Edu- 
cation should  be  the  handmaid  to  religion.  All  the  maxims  that 
should  regulate  the  system,  the  teacher,  or  the  pupil,  may  be  de- 
duced from  this  relation.  I  will  not  now  attempt  the  deduction, 
but  will  content  myself  with  one  of  prime  importance  to  you,  and 
which  I  mean  to  make  the  main  idea  of  my  first  letter  to  my  first 
child  at  school  abroad. 

If  education  is  valuable  chiefly  because  it  may  prepare  for 
growth  in  grace,  then  growth  in  grace  must  never  be  subordinated 
to  the  attainment  of  an  education.  Plainly,  the  closest,  daily 
devotional  reading  of  the  Bible,  meditation,  the  private  and  per- 
sonal duties  of  piety,  must  never  be  neglected  or  hurried  over, 
in  order  to  prepare  a  school  lesson.  We  must  find  time  for  our 
directly  religious  deities.  Growth  in  grace  is  the  end :  the  Divine- 
ly constituted  means  of  grace  stand  nearest  in  their  relation  to 
that  end  :  when  school  work  trenches  upon  the  proper  use  of  those 


42  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

means,  it  ceases  to  be  a  means  to  the  end  for  which  it  was  designed. 
The  end  is  forgotten :  the  means,  one  of  the  means,  become  an 
end.     The  true  relations  are  reversed :    evil  must  follow. 

I  hope  to  write  you  once  a  week;  but  if  I  should  not  find  time 
for  this,  do  not  suppose  that  anything  serious  has  happened.  We 
are  all  well.  Lizzie  seems  pleased  with  her  High  School,  but  she 
will  give  her  own  account  of  it.  The  boys  are  at  Miss  Paxton's 
and  seem  to  be  at  work.  I  was  much  pleased  with  your  penman- 
ship, especially  in  your  letter  to  Miss  Emma  Bicknell.  Take  pains 
to  write  neatly.  It  is  a  recommendation  in  a  lady.  I  hope  to  see 
you  next  Tuesday  week,  on  my  way  to  Cincinnati  Synod.  I  will 
call  if  I  can.  My  respects  to  your  teachers.  All  unite  in  love, 
especially  dear  Ma  and  your  afifectionate  father. 


XVII 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 


New  Albany,  15  Nov.,  1856. 
My  dear  Daughter  Mary: 

I  send  you  a  copy  of  Virgil,  Bullion's  Greek  Reader,  etc.  I 
supposed  you  had  bought  these  books  with  the  money  I  sent  you 
from  Urbana,  which  was  20  francs  in  gold.  A  franc,  you  know, 
is  a  French  coin,  five  of  which  equal  95  cents ;  so  that  your  piece 
was  $3.80. 

I  am  quite  satisfied  with  your  report ;  considering  the  number 
of  your  studies ;  that  is,  if  you  had  been  perfect  in  so  many  things, 
I  should  have  found  that  you  had  been  too  closely  engaged.  In- 
deed, I  do  not  need  any  report  to  assure  me  that  Mary  May  will 
be  diligent  in  study,  and  will  fully  improve  her  opportunities. 
My  only  fear  is  that  you  will  neglect  the  care  of  your  health  in 
endeavoring  too  much.  The  truth  is,  you  ought  not  to  have  under- 
taken Geometry  in  connection  with  Algebra.  The  latter  properly 
precedes  the  former  in  a  regular  course  of  study ;  and  one  mathe- 
matical study  is  sufficient.  If  your  teacher  would  consent,  I  would 
prefer  that  you  would  drop  Geometry  until  you  have  completed 
Algebra.  It  is  not  right  to  ride  a  free  horse  to  death.  The  mindj 
you  know,  is  like  the  body  in  this,  that  it  may  be  overworked. 
Too  much  food  taken  at  once  hinders  digestion,  and  impairs  the 
tone  of  the  stomach.  So  too  many  subjects,  brought  in  rapid 
succession  before  the  mind,  impair  its  power  of  analysis  and  com- 
prehension. The  wild  Indians  who  were  taken  through  the  city 
of  London,  to  look  at  the  lions,  returned  home  at  night  pressing 
their  hands  to  their  foreheads,  and  exclaiming  in  broken  English, 
"Too  much  house,  too  (much  people."  The  mind  becomes  bewil- 
dered and  confused ;  and  not  only  retains  a  vague  and  feeble  im- 
pression of  what  is  presented  ;  but  what  is  far  worse,  if  the  under- 
taking be  continuous,  a  careless  and  superficial  habit  is  formed, 
which  incapacitates  it  for  real  scholarship.  We  cannot,  on  the 
other  hand,  study  any  one  subject  continuously;  a  change  is  neces- 


44  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

sary :  and  the  mind,  jaded  with  intense  investigation  of  any  one 
thing,  turns  to  another,  perhaps  equally  difficult,  but  of  a  different 
character,  as  if  it  were  a  relaxation.  This  may  be  repeated  until 
mental  exhaustion  demands  an  entire  suspension  of  close  thought. 

True  mental  cultivation  must  be  guided  by  a  knowledge  of  the 
mind.  These  require  1°  (the  °  stands  for  the  termination  of  primo, 
firstly;  as  2'>  for  secundo,  3°  for  tertio,  etc., —  this  is  the  neatest 
mode  of  marking  divisions).  These  require,  I  say,  1°  a  sufficient 
variety  of  studies  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  thought.  2°  a  selec- 
tion of  alternating  studies  adapted  to  the  development  of  different 
faculties;  as  Languages,  Mathematics  and  History;  or  Lan- 
guages, Mathematics  and  Belles  Lettres  or  Natural  Science.  3° 
That  not  more  than  from  four  to  six  hours  a  day  should  be  em- 
ployed in  close  study ;  in  which  time  I  would  not  include  the  hours 
of  recitation,  as  recitation  is  commonly  conducted.  4°  The  ex- 
clusive direction  of  the  entire  mind  to  one  subject  at  one  time: 
so  that  while  you  spend  your  two  hours  on  Virgil,  for  example, 
you  should  speak  and  think  of  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  during 
those  two  hours,  but  your  Latin.  Toties  in  illis,  is  the  Horatian 
precept ;  or  as  St.  Paul  says  to  the  minister  in  his  vocation  Tavra 
fjieXkra  ev  tovtol^  kjOl  (you  read  Greek  now,  "meditate  on  these 
things ;  give  yourself  wholly  to  them,  that  thy  profiting  may 
appear  unto  all.")      (1  Tim.  4:15). 

To  master  anything,  one  must  analyze  it  to  its  elements ;  must 
consider  each  separate  elementary  idea  long  and  carefully  enough 
to  obtain  a  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  it,  first  in  itself,  and, 
secondly,  in  its  relations  to  other  ideas.  After  this,  the  several 
ideas,  thus  perfectly  apprehended  apart,  must  be  combined,  one 
by  one,  until  the  mind  distinctly  embraces  the  complex  whole  in 
the  mastery  of  its  parts  and  their  relations.  To  study  thus  re- 
quires time  and  patience.  The  mind  must  be  conscious  that  it 
may  take  its  leisure.  It  cannot  be  hurried  on  with  the  thought 
of  a  near  approaching  recitation  hour.  To  cram  is  not  to  study. 
To  cram  is  to  fill  the  memory  hurriedly  with  a  confused  mass  of 
names  and  notions,  with  the  hope  that  a  sufficient  number  of  them 
will  adhere  to  the  memory^  long  enough  to  answer  the  present 


To  His  Daughter  45 

emergency.  To  study  is  to  master  a  thought,  a  fact.  An  idea 
once  clearly  understood  in  its  real  relations  to  other  relations ;  — 
a  fact  once  fairly  understood, —  is  never  lost  to  its  owner.  The 
memory  may  not  recall  it;  but  it  belongs  to  the  mind  itself.  It  is 
OUR  OWN :  a  permanent  part  of  our  mental  furniture.  We  may 
not  remember  it,  but  we  know  it,  and  can  make  it  for  ourselves 
when  we  need  it. 


XVIII 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 


New  Albany,  Ind.,  14  Jany.,  1857. 
My  dear  Mary : 

I  should  have  preferred  your  continuance  in  Virgil,  as  you 
have  read  so  little  in  that  author,  and  are  hardly  prepared  for 
Horace.  Still  I  prefer  your  reading  Horace  to  your  giving  up 
Latin  altogether.  The  only  ill  result  I  fear  from  your  rapid  prog- 
ress to  hard  authors  is,  that  you  may  not  master  elementary  prin- 
ciples, and  content  yourself  with  a  mere  translation  of  the  author. 
An  ability  to  guess  fairly  at  the  general  sense  of  a  writer  is  mis- 
taken for  scholarship ;  whereas  the  whole  beauty,  the  exact 
thought,  the  nice  shades  of  thought,  and  in  fact  all  certainty  as 
to  the  real  meaning,  are  wanting.  All  true  scholarship  must  be 
built  upon  a  laborious  study  of  details  and  elements.  You  must 
have  grammatical  forms,  rules,  exceptions,  principles,  at  YOUR 
TONGUE'S  END;  to  which  add  a  familiarity  with  the  several 
senses  of  words,  and  the  idioms  of  a  language,  and  you  are  able 
to  appreciate  an  author.  Our  schools  and  colleges,  so  far  as  I 
know  them,  are  almost  wholly  destitute  of  this  exact  training.  I 
hope  yours  is  an  exception,  and  that  you  will  come  home  not  a 
smatterer,  but  a  real  scholar.  One  great  reason,  perhaps  the  chief 
reason,  why  so  few  prosecute  classical  studies  after  they  leave 
college  is  that  they  never  enjoyed  for  an  hour  the  solid  satisfaction 
of  sifting  a  thing  thoroughly,  so  as  to  feel  assured  that  they  under- 
stood what  they  were  reading.  The  mind  cannot  enjoy  a  cloudy, 
dreamy,  uncertain  guess  at  truth  of  any  sort.  H  nothing  else  is 
obtainable  in  a  particular  study,  the  mind  instinctively  revolts 
against  such  a  study. 

I  write  in  the  confusion  of  our  sitting-room;   baby  bawling; 
Allie  trying  to  still  her ;   mother  sorting  things,  etc. 


XIX 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER,  ELIZABETH 


Davenport,  Iowa,  May  4th,  1857. 
My  dear  Daughter  Lizzie : 

I  thank  you  very  sincerely  for  your  kind  and  interesting  and 
neatly  written  letter.  I  am  515  miles  from  home,  and  to  be  as- 
sured of  your  welfare  is  very  cheering.  You  will  learn  from  my 
letters  to  your  mother  the  general  course  and  results  of  my  jour- 
ney. From  Chicago  we  traveled  about  180  miles  over  a  country 
of  prairies.  In  June  and  July  these  are  covered  with  tall,  rich 
grass,  filled  with  a  thousand  varied  and  beautiful  flowers.  Now 
not  a  blade  of  grass,  an  opening  bud ;  nor  a  single  green  thing  is  to 
be  found.  All  is  dry,  brown,  bare  g^round;  even  the  stubble 
having  been  burnt  off  in  the  fall  and  winter.  Still,  there  is  some- 
thing of  a  charm  in  these  immense  plains,  where  not  a  single  stick 
of  timber  appears,  as  far  as  eye  can  see.  On  Tuesday  afternoon, 
about  four  o'clock,  we  came  upon  the  Father  of  Waters,  a  few 
miles  north  of  Rock  Island.  As  I  had  long  desired  to  see  the  old 
gentleman,  of  whom  I  had  heard  from  my  childhood,  you  may  be 
sure  that  when  I  made  his  acquaintance,  I  took  off  my  hat  and  paid 
him  my  obeisance.  This  is  the  same  old  gentleman,  you  know, 
of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  has  a  bad  cold  in  his  head  this  season, 
because  he  has  kept  his  mouth  open  eleven  months  in  the  year. 

One  sees  here,  in  every  direction,  the  evidences  of  a  rapidly 
growing  and  prosperous  country ;  but  at  the  same  time,  of  a  newly 
peopled  region.  Individuals,  in  most  of  the  chief  towns,  may  be 
found  with  their  quarter  or  half  a  million  dollars;  tasteful  and 
substantial  houses,  churches,  etc.,  are  numerous ;  yet  Iowa  City, 
Davenport,  Rock  Island,  etc.,  etc.,  are  unpaved  and  without  side- 
walks, except  occasionally  a  few  square  feet  of  brick  or  flagstone, 
or  a  long  walk  of  boards.  Everything  cannot  be  done  at  once. 
Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day.  Ten  or  twelve  years  hence,  by  the 
time  you  come  to  settle  in  some  of  these  western  fields  of  mission- 
ary labor,  there  will  be  a  wonderful  change.     This  whole  north- 


Elizabeth  R.  Thomas  (Mrs.  Theo.  Kemper) 

Mary  Sering  Kemper 


To  His  Daughter,  Elizabeth  49 

west  has  the  basis  of  an  immense  population;  a  wealthy,  pros- 
perous, and  intelligent  assembly  of  commonwealths.  I  only  fear 
that  in  such  cities  as  Chicago  there  are  too  much  of  wealth  and 
the  luxuries  and  elegancies  which  wealth  procures.  What  do  you 
think  of  hundreds  of  dollars  bestowed  upon  a  young  lady  at  her 
marriage,  as  bridal  presents  ?  A  member  of  the  South  Church  was 
married  the  week  we  arrived  at  Chicago,  whose  bridal  dress  (the 
gown  only)  cost  $300.  Her  parents  were  wealthy,  but  her  mother, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  church,  wished  it  to  be  understood  that 
the  dress  was  a  present  from  an  aunt.  She  thought  it  extravagant. 
This  is  all  wrong,  very  wrong,  God  never  gave  riches  to  be  wasted 
in  such  idle  display. 


XX 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER  AT  SCHOOL 


Dayton,  Ohio,  13  Nov.,  1858. 
My  dear  Daughter  Mary  : 

*  *  *  I  hke  the  studies  you  have  entered  on.  By  the  way, 
when  you  have  learned  Greek,  you  will  spell  Cholagauge  with  the 
English  representative  of  X,  not  Colagauge,  as  in  your  letter.  The 
word  is  derived  from  x^^Vy  ^^^^,  ^I'^d  dyw,  to  drive  out;  because 
the  medicine  expels  the  bile  from  the  system.  The  Greek  X  is 
Englished  by  Ch;  so  you  see  that  Greek  is  of  some  use  even  to 
young  ladies ! 

^       5^       ^JC 

Take  care  to  read  your  Bible  carefully,  thoughtfully  and  prayer- 
fully every  morning  and  evening.  Your  character  is  now  forming, 
and  in  all  probability,  will  continue  through  life  substantially  what 
it  is  at  school.  Remember  that  the  chief  end  of  life  is  to  serve 
God  in  your  generation ;  and  ask  Him  to  prepare  you  for  a  wide 
field  of  usefulness.  If  you  aim  chiefly  to  please  yourself  and  enjoy 
life,  as  it  is  called,  He  will  sadly  disappoint  you.     Be  sure  of  this. 

Be  careful  to  write  legibly.  I  could  not  read  any  proper  name 
in  your  letter  to  Lizzie.  Let  me  suggest  to  you  an  improvement 
in  your  mode  of  writing  letters.  You  begin  half  way  down  the 
first  sheet,  instead  of  near  the  top,  and  are  then  obliged  to  finish 
by  writing  crosswise  on  the  blank  place.  It  is  a  foolish  practice 
of  some  people ;  partly,  I  suppose,  to  show  that  they  do  not  value 
paper.  You  have  imitated  others.  You  should  rather  set  an 
example,  guided  by  your  own  good  sense  in  small  as  well  as  in 
great  matters. 

We  are  all  rejoiced  to  hear  of  your  health  and  happiness.  Your 
progress  in  Greek  delights  me ;  but  remember  that  the  chief  value 
of  learning  the  dead  languages  is  lost  by  nearly  all  who  study  them ; 
from  the  fact  that  they  have  never  learned  to  read  accurately,  and 
do  not  carry  on  the  study  sufficiently  to  relish  the  beauties  of  Latin 


To  His  Daughter  at  School  51 

and  Greek  writers.  You  must  spend  some  years  to  secure  this 
end.  Take  time,  therefore  ;  and  do  not  study  too  closely  at  pres- 
ent. Without  health  you  can  do  nothing  and  enjoy  nothing 
earthly.  Do  not  study  Greek  on  the  Lord's  day.  Let  your  mind 
be  employed  then  only  upon  divine  truth.  When  you  can  read  the 
Greek  Testament  with  some  facility,  there  will  be  no  objection. 
You  will  make  more  rapid  intellectual  as  well  as  moral  progress, 
by  remembering  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  ;  that  is,  separated 
from  all  ordinary  employments,  and  consecrated  to  communion 
with  God. 

Nettie  Thruston  has  returned :  she  gained  16  lbs.  in  weight 
during  her  Michigan  trip.  I  had  a  long  talk  with  her  last  Tuesday 
on  religious  subjects.     She  is  a  very  sweet  and  beautiful  girl. 


XXI 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER  AT  SCHOOL 


Dayton,  O.,  2  Feb.,  1859. 
My  dear  Daughter  Mary : 

Yours  of  Jany  31st  was  received  this  inorning.  We  are  glad 
to  hear  of  your  health  and  happiness. 

*  *  * 

By  the  way,  you  make  a  breach  of  grammar  in  saying,  "I  will 
be  examined",  etc.,  when  you  should  say,  "I  shall."  If  you  wish 
to  express  something  dependent  on  your  own  volition,  or  some 
determination  of  yours,  you  say  I  zi'ill;  but  when  the  event  depends 
on  the  arrangements  of  your  superiors,  teachers,  etc.,  you  say  "T 
shall",  that  is,  it  is  so  ordered:  I  am  to  be,  etc.  Remember  this. 
The  Scotch  habitually  violate  the  rule,  as  did  the  Frenchman  who 
fell  into  the  Thames, — "I  will  be  drowned  and  nobody  shall  help 
me."  I  received  by  the  mail  that  brought  your  last,  a  letter  from 
Prof.  Wm.  Bishop,  of  Lawrence,  Kansas,  (at  present),  containing 
two  or  three  similar  solecisms. 

As  for  your  studies  for  the  new  term,  I  am  decided  that  you 
should  not  have  more  than  three  regular  studies  at  once.  I  tried 
the  plan  of  four  among  our  Hanover  students  and  found  it  un- 
profitable. If  you  read  Greek  and  Latin,  with  Trigonometry,  say 
twice  a  week  for  the  regular  recitations ;  some  branch  of  natural 
science  for  an  alternate,  with  Latin  or  Trigonometry  say  twice  a 
week,  your  time  will  be  spent  as  profitably,  I  think,  as  in  any  other 
way. 

Having  begun  Greek  and  Latin,  you  ought  to  make  yourself 
a  complete  mistress  of  those  languages.  The  great  error  in  the 
teaching  or  study  of  these  things,  is  that  ninety-nine  out  of  every 
hundred  fail  to  attain  such  an  acquaintance  with  them  as  to  make 
them  of  practical  value.  Either  they  should  be  thoroughly  learned, 
or  let  alone.  Many  say,  therefore,  let  them  alone;  substitute 
modern  tongues,  French,  German,  Italian.     But  for  my  part,  if  I 


To  His  Daughter  at  School  53 

could  talk  French  or  Greek,  at  my  option,  (and  to  read  those  lan- 
guages familiarly,  to  us  who  can  reach  only  authors  in  them,  is  the 
same  as  to  speak  them),  I  would  prefer  the  Greek;  for  all  that  is 
valuable  in  Philosophy,  Science,  art,  etc.  The  modern  style  of 
thought,  and  range  of  subject  we  have  already  at  command  in  our 
mother  tongue.  The  ability  to  read  Greek  authors  brings  one  into 
communication  with  a  class  of  minds  the  most  acute  and  polished, 
who  are  so  far  removed  from  our  modern  style  and  topics  of 
thought  as  to  make  a  new  world  of  literature,  far  more  refreshing 
and  suggestive  from  the  fact  of  its  dissimilarity  to  our  own. 

Of  course,  in  addition  to  the  studies  I  have  named,  you  will 
have  music ;  as  a  relaxation  rather  than  a  study,  however,  for  you 
should  never  pursue  it  to  weariness. 

You  did  well  in  giving  your  mite  to ;    though  I  do 

not  think  he  did  well  in  seeking  or  receiving  aid  from  such  a 
quarter.  A  minister  in  his  circumstances,  such  as  you  represent 
them,  should  apply  for  help  to  the  church  at  large,  through  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry. 

Farewell  —  May  our  Heavenly  Father  and  our  gracious  Sav- 
iour preserve  you  and  bless  you,  and  render  you  very  useful  and 
very  happy,  is  the  fervent  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  Father. 


XXII 
TO  PROF.  JNO.  W.  SCOTT 


Dayton,  O.,  17  March,  1859. 
My  Dear  and  Honored  Friend : 

I  am  ashamed  to  find  that  your  favor  of  14  Feb.  is  yet  unan- 
swered. When  you  wrote,  the  only  man  in  our  church  who  would 
be  at  all  likely  to  aid  with  such  a  sum  as  you  need,  H.  Stoddard, 
Esq.,  Sr.,  was  absent  in  St.  Louis.  He  scarcely  returned  home 
before  he  left  again  for  New  York  and  Washington ;  and  return- 
ing again  for  a  day  or  two,  he  went  a  second  time  to  New  York. 
He  is  just  now  not  in  a  position  to  be  induced  to  a  large  liberality. 

I  believe  I  told  you  before  that  this  church  is  by  no  means  in 
its  former  pecuniary  condition.  The  two  colonies,  the  3rd  Church 
and  that  of  Miami  City,  have  materially  reduced  both  its  means 
and  membership :  many  of  our  best  men  have  been  greatly  em- 
barrassed for  a  year  or  two  past ;  and  are  yet  struggling  for  dear 
life,  some  of  them.  Our  outside  pillars,  such  men  as  P.  P.  Lowe, 
Jno.  G.  Lowe,  H.  G.  Phillips,  T.  A.  Phillips,  etc.,  are  not  interested 
on  general  Christian  principles ;  though  some  of  them  are  liberal 
in  all  our  Jwine  church  matters;  and  some  are  not.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  one  man  can  be  found,  willing  to  invest  $1,000,  or 
even  $500,  in  the  support  of  such  an  enterprise  as  yours.  In  fact, 
very  few  have  the  money.  Mrs.  Jno.  G.  Lowe  told  me  soon  after 
I  came  that  she  did  not  suppose  there  were  a  dozen  families  in 
Dayton  able  to  meet  their  engagements  without  embarrassments. 
The  business  world  here  has  been  stagnant,  comparatively,  for  the 
last  three  or  four  years;  and  the  improvement  is  very  gradual. 
A  fezv,  a  very  few,  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  pecuniary  ease;  but 
unfortunately,  they  are  not  of  those  who  regard  themselves,  in  any 
proper  sense,  as  stewards  of  the  Lord. 

If  I  had  $5.00  at  command,  or  obtainable,  this  morning,  I 
should  have  allowed  myself  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  to  Oxford  to- 
day ;  if  only  that  I  might  have  presented,  personally,  the  assurance 


To  Prof.  Jno.  W.  Scott  55 

of  my  sympathy  —  but  I  had  not  —  and  "to  beg  I  am  ashamed." 
My  family  is  at,  perhaps,  its  most  expensive  point ;  my  children 
growing  up,  at  school,  and  earning  nothing.  But  they  are  healthy 
and  promising ;   and  I  would  be  grateful. 


XXIII 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER  AT  SCHOOL 


Davton,  O.,  19  April,  1859. 

My  dear  Daughter  Mary : 

We  have  received  several  letters  from  you  lately  which  have 
given  us  much  pleasure.  You  seem  to  be  in  good  health  and 
spirits,  and  the  style  of  your  correspondence  indicates  improve- 
ment. I  have  reason  to  rejoice  that  you  have  so  good  opportuni- 
ties for  cultivation,  and  do  not  grudge  the  expense,  though  it  is 
not  inconsiderable.  I  doubt  not,  that  if  Providence  spare  your 
life,  you  will,  with  the  divine  blessing,  abundantly  repay  any  care 
and  cost  that  your  parents  have  expended  upon  you.  But  my 
dear  daughter,  you  must  "not  be  high  minded  but  fear."  How 
much  reason  there  is  in  the  divine  injunction,  "pass  the  time  of 
your  sojourning  here  in  fear,"  you  will  not  know  for  many  years 
to  come.  A  modest,  humble,  self-distrust  is  an  invaluable  grace. 
"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  said  He  who  knew  what  was  in 
man. 

Be  on  your  guard  against  too  much  influence  by  those  around 
you.  There  is  but  one  Perfect  Guide  and  Counsellor,  the  indwell- 
ing Spirit.  Do  not  form  too  strong  attachments  to  your  friends. 
Your  passions  are  ardent,  and  youth  is  impulsive.  Do  not  expect 
too  much  from  others.  Do  not  yield  to  a  passionate  admiration 
When  wiser,  you  will  moderate  your  estimation  even  of  some 
choice  companions.  A  proper  self-respect  is  as  necessary  as  a 
proper  self-distrust.  An  undue  esteem  of  others  argues  a  want 
of  personal  character  and  independence.  We  may  be  inferior  to 
others ;  but  let  us  remember  that  we  have  an  individuality  and 
character  of  our  own.  We  may  be  superior  to  others ;  but  let  us 
cultivate  our  own  powers  rather  than  seek  admirers.  Remember 
that  all  are  imperfect ;  that  we  are  imperfect.  This  is  not  an 
anti-climax.  We  may  believe  the  former  when  we  hardly  believe 
the  latter ;   paradoxical  as  it  may  appear. 


To  His  Daughter  at  School  57 

Perhaps  all  this  is  Sanscrit  to  you.  Well,  I  will  explain  my- 
self more  fully  some  day.  Just  now,  I  only  mean  to  say  that  you 
are  in  a  critical  period  of  life;  a  forming,  a  nascent  period.  (I 
believe  you  have  studied  chemistry.)  Your  heart  and  mind  are 
artless,  confiding,  ready  to  receive  almost  any  impression.  Like 
your  father,  you  are  naturally  frank,  rather  more  honest  than  most 
people,  and  ready  to  think  every  one  as  sincere  as  yourself;  as 
unselfish.  Do  not  think  that  my  apprehensions  relate  to  gentle- 
men, now :  I  have  too  much  confidence  in  your  good  sense  to  sup- 
pose that  at  your  age  and  circumstances,  with  an  unfinished  educa- 
tion, you  would  admit  any  foolish  thoughts  of  that  sort ;  however 
common  it  may  be  with  some  no  older  than  yourself.  I  trust  that 
you  have  purposes  in  life  too  elevated  (at  least  that  a  gracious 
God  has  purposes  for  you)  to  allow  you  to  divert  your  mind  from 
the  high  duties  of  your  preparatory  state.  No  —  I  mean  nothing 
of  that  sort  yet ;  not  at  all.  Your  present  dangers  are  from  your 
daily  companions  and  dearest  friends.  Think  about  it,  and  re- 
member that  your  father  is  28  years  older  than  you,  and  has  been 
young  and  in  college. 

Your  loving  father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXIV 
FROM  COL.  MINOR  MILLIKIN 


The  Oaks,  near  Hamilton,  Nov.  19,  1860. 
My  dear  Doctor : 

I  am  requested  by  the  officers  of  the  Oxford  Reading  Room  to 
use  whatever  influence  I  have,  in  persuading  you  to  give  them  a 
lecture  some  time  during  this  winter.  I  have  not  yet  seen  their 
list;  but  from  the  character  of  their  audiences  I  know  it  will  be  a 
respectable  one.  To  be  sure,  the  fact  that  I  am  to  begin  the  course 
next  Thursday  eve.,  by  a  lecture  on  the  Neglect  of  the  Body  by 
Conscientious  Laborers,  somewhat  militates  against  this  supposi- 
tion ;  but  I  trust  you  will  not  allow  this  to  influence  you,  seeing 
that  I  shall  be  there  rather  as  a  protege  than  a  prodigy.  Indeed 
it  was  hoped  that  you  might  follow  me,  and  I  was  told  to  ask  you 
to  do  so. 

Will  you  not  spare  me  a  line  on  the  subject?  I  want  to  see 
your  autograph  again,  sir,  on  my  own  account,  since  it  will  always 
be  to  me  both  a  souvenir  and  an  earnest  of  an  afifection  shown  to 
me,  for  which  I  can  never  be  too  grateful.  Remember  me  espe- 
cially to  your  wife  and  family,  and 

Believe  me  yours,  by  many  bonds, 

Minor  Millikin. 


XXV 
FROM  HIS  DAUGHTER 

War's  Alarms 


New  Albany,  Sept.  23,  1861. 
My  dear  Father : 

To-day,  for  the  first  time,  Louisville  seems  in  real  and  great 
danger.  Bragg  is  marching  on  the  city,  with  Buel  one  day's  march 
at  his  heels.  Nelson  is  ahead  in  Louisville,  and  declares  he  will 
burn  the  city  before  he  leaves  it.  Consequently  he  has  ordered 
all  the  women  and  children  out  of  Louisville,  and  they  are  flocking 
over  here  and  to  Jeffersonville.  There  they  are  rapidly  construct- 
ing a  bridge  for  transportation.  Government  wagons  are  coming 
over.  You  will  probably  have  learned  all  this  from  the  papers 
before  you  get  this,  but  I  repeat  it  that  you  may  see  I  knew  the 
state  of  afifairs  when  I  wrote.  All  is  absolutely  quiet  here,  waiting 
for  further  steps.  There  is  every  prospect  of  a  terrible  battle  in 
front  of  Louisville,  but  even  then  New  Albany  will  not  probably 
be  in  danger.  I  write  that  you  may  put  your  mind  perfectly  at 
rest  about  me.  There  will  probably  not  be  any  panic  here  in  the 
worst  case.  In  prospect  of  serious  danger,  the  women  and  chil- 
dren will  probably  be  ordered  out  of  New  Albany,  as  they  have 
been  out  of  Louisville,  and  then  I  will  go  with  Mrs.  Bicknell.  I 
shall  not  be  willing  to  come  home  until  New  Albany  is  taken. 
But  if  our  generals  and  soldiers  do  their  duty,  Louisville  is  safe. 
Buell  is  very  near,  and  ought  to  have  a  fine  army.  At  the  least 
computation  there  are  50,000  troops  in  Louisville. 

Tomorrow,  we  expect  to  be  greeted  by  the  sound  of  cannon 
and  perhaps  the  rattle  of  musketry. 

Yours, 

Mary  May. 


Alfred  A.  Thomas 
Thomas  H.  Thomas 


Gertrude  Thomas  (Mrs.  Henry  S.  Mead) 
Felix  Thomas 
Gertrude    Mrs.  Alfred  A.  Thomas    Thomas  H. 


XXVI 
FROM  HIS  SON 

Life  in  a  Cavalry  Regiment 


Camp  at  Pilot  Mountain,  Ky. 

^        ^    ,  Dec.  9th,  1863. 

Dear  Father: 

I  write  once  more  to  let  you  know  of  my  whereabouts  and 
good  health.  Our  battalion  left  Cumberland  Gap  about  the  25th 
of  last  month,  and  reached  this  place,  which  is  15  miles  north  of 
Richmond,  in  eight  days.  We  stopped  three  days  at  Cumberland 
Ford,  where  the  Battalion  received  350  fresh  horses ;  and  then 
came  straight  through.  Our  men,  having  few  tents,  camped  in 
the  wet  and  mud  of  Winter,  and  are  in  bad  way  from  exposure. 
I  have  plenty  to  eat  and  good  shelter  now,  being  in  charge  of  the 
sick  in  our  hospital,  which  is  a  large  log  hut  and  very  comfortable. 
The  road  on  which  we  are  encamped  is  the  one  on  which  the  great 
supply  trains  for  Burnside's  army  pass.  All  the  forces  in  or  about 
Knoxville  or  East  Tennessee,  are  supplied  by  trains  which  run 
from  Camp  Nelson  or  Lexington  to  Knoxville.  It  has  been  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  supply  the  army  this  Winter  over  such  long 
communications.  The  road  clear  from  Cumberland  Gap  to  Camp 
Nelson  is  lined  with  wagons  and  dead  mules.  One  train  has  been 
passing  here  all  day. 

We  have  heard  of  the  late  victories  in  Tennessee :  they  are 
glorious.  But  scarcely  a  letter  or  paper  reaches  me  from  home 
that  does  not  name  some  of  my  acquaintances  killed  in  the  army. 
Augustus  George,  Will  Spinning,  I.  Protzman,  Major  Birch,  Cols. 
King,  Strong  and  many  others  have  been  killed  since  my  leaving 
home.  I  have  now  enough  of  warm,  woolen  clothing;  the  gov- 
ernment is  liberal  in  this  respect ;  but  I  have  now  no  stockings, 
mine  were  worn  out  from  the  heels  and  I  could  not  darn  them, 
but  I  think  can  draw  a  pair  in  a  few  days.  At  the  Gap  my  boots 
gave  entirely  out.  so  I  got  a  pair  from  the  sutler  for  $12  —  just  one 
month's  wages  for  a  pair  of  boots. 


62  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

Can't  you  send  me  some  bandages?  Many  poor  fellows  come 
every  day  to  my  hospital  to  get  wounds  dressed,  and  there  is  not 
a  rag  to  dress  them  with,  and  they  can't  be  had.  We  have  to  do 
them  up  again  in  the  old  and  dirty  rags.  Send  linen  bandages 
four  to  six  inches  wide,  rolled  up  tightly.  Lizzie  knows  how  to 
make  them. 

My  duties  as  Hospital  Steward  are  quite  different  from  the 
life  in  the  ranks.  I  had  been  dissatisfied,  feeling  I  was  getting 
barbarized  and  unfit  for  my  old  company  at  home.  Still  some 
points  are  gains.  I  am  stronger,  can  stand  more  exposure,  have 
more  energy;  have  seen  hard  cavalry  service  and  become  a  fair 
horseman.  Have  had  a  good  insight  into  army  life  and  the  people 
and  country  in  Ky.,  East  Tenn.,  and  Va.  So  it  has  not  been  all 
loss  after  all.  But  above  all  things,  I  think  I  have  done  my  duty 
to  the  country ;  and  although  we  have  seen  hard  times,  I  have  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  when  our  land  stood  in  peril  and 
need  of  men,  I  was  not  found  wanting. 

I  am  still  your  son. 

Alfred  A.  Thomas. 


XXVII 
TO  HIS  SON  AT  YALE 


Dayton,  O.,  17  Oct.,  1864. 
My  beloved  Son : 

We  all  thank  you  for  your  very  regular  and  pleasing  corre- 
spondence. Your  fair  hand,  and  the  neatness  of  your  letters, 
free  from  blots,  etc.,  recommend  them.  Be  careful  to  write  well 
always.     Whatever  is  worth  doing  at  all,  is  worth  doing  well. 

Your  health  is  of  the  very  highest  importance.  Without  a 
good  constitution,  and  sound,  vigorous  health,  your  education, 
when  attained,  will  be  of  very  little  value  to  you,  or  anyone  else. 
God  has  blessed  you,  I  think,  with  a  healthy  organization :  but 
that  will  not  take  care  of  itself,  any  more  than  your  mind  will. 
If  you  spend  hours  of  patient  study  to  cultivate  the  latter,  how 
unreasonable  to  neglect,  much  more  to  abuse,  the  former.  The 
body,  in  its  wonderful  organization,  is  like  a  steam  engine.  It 
needs  the  constant  care  of  the  engineer.  Its  joints  must  be  oiled. 
It  must  not  be  driven  too  far  at  once.  Even  the  iron  horse  needs 
rest.  Too  much  steam  will  burst  the  boiler,  or  drive  a  head  from 
the  cylinder,  or  split  a  steam  pipe,  and  remember  that  the  train 
stops,  the  engineer  is  helpless,  when  the  locomotive  refuses  to 
work. 

The  idlest  of  all  pretenses  is  the  common  one  —  I  haven't 
time  to  take  exercise ! —  as  if  the  engineer,  or  conductor,  should 
say,  I  haven't  time  to  stop  at  the  station  for  wood  and  water ! 
The  ass  !  Does  he  not  know  that  if  the  wood  and  water  are  want- 
ing, all  will  come  to  a  dead  halt?  The  brain,  free  from  the  op- 
pression of  over  feeding,  and  of  stimulating  drinks;  and  reen- 
forced  by  an  ample  supply  from  that  fountain  of  life,  the  heart, 
(see  Lev.  17:11,  and  Prov.  4:23.);  will  perform  double  the 
work  which  it  can  do  under  other  conditions.  With  two  or  three 
hours  of  active  exercise  daily,  you  can  study  more  in  the  re- 
maining hours  than  in  all  together  without  exercise. 


Elizabeth  R.  Thomas  (Mrs.  Harrington  Davis)  John  H.  Thomas 

Isabel  C.  Thomas  Mary  May  Thomas 

(Mrs.  Allen  P.  Lovejoy)  (Mrs.  Horace  P.  Phillips) 


To  His  Son  at  Yale  65 

You  ask,  how  much  time  you  should  employ  in  exercise. 
The  rule  of  Cambridge,  England,  (see  Bristead's  Five  Years  in 
an  English  University),  is  to  spend  three  hours  daily  in  what 
they  call  their  "constitutionals :"  i.  e.,  I  should  think  you  ought 
to  take  as  much.  Rowing  is  a  favorite  sport  at  Cambridge,  as 
at  New  Haven,  I  believe;  but  walking  is  the  almost  universal 
recreation.  Ten  or  twelve  miles  before  dinner,  (they  dine  at 
three  or  four),  is  very  common;  and  fifteen  miles  in  three  hours 
is  frequently  performed.  By  this  manly  and  vigorous  discipline 
they  preserve,  as  Bristead  says,  (I  believe  he  spells  his  name 
without  an  a,  however,  but  I  have  not  his  book  at  hand),  the 
finest  physique  in  Europe. 

You  have  a  gymnasium,  of  which  you  have  said  nothing  in 
your  letters.  Have  you  visited  that?  What  kind  of  exercises? 
Ten-pins  is  a  capital  game ;  brings  most  of  the  muscles  into  play, 
and  is  amusing  and  interesting,  as  many  mere  exercises  are  not. 
Do  not  fear  the  expense.  I  would  much  rather  pay  that  myself 
than  you  should  fail  to  have  the  benefit.  But  this  magnificent 
fall  weather,  {ive  are  in  the  glory  of  our  Indian  Summer,  our 
most  charming  season),  you  can  find  both  amusement  and  exer- 
tion in  rambling  about  New  Haven  and  its  environs.  Have  you 
seen  the  Regicide's  Cave  yet?  It  is  not  far  distant.  And  the  red- 
sand-stone  clififs,  and  the  trap  rock,  which  abound  near  New 
Haven,  would  repay  many  a  visit.  Take  one  or  two  choice  chums 
and  set  off  on  a  five  or  six  mile  tramp,  to  begin  with.  Cultivate 
your  powers  of  observation.  Examine  nature  and  art.  Talk 
with  farmers,  mechanics  and  seamen.  You  can  pick  up  informa- 
tion enough  to  compensate  you  for  the  trouble. 

My  favorite  game  at  College  was  shinney,  and  football  was 
common.  Are  there  none  at  Yale  who  play  cricket  ball  ?  or  base- 
ball ?  All  these  are  manly  sports ;  but  walking  has  this  advan- 
tage, that  exercise  is  not  likely  to  be  overdone,  carried  too  far ; 
as  is  often  the  case  where  a  contest  for  victory  stimulates  one. 

If  your  Greek  costs  you  three  hours,  your  Latin  two,  your 
mathematics  one,  you  need  but  six  hours  a  day  for  your  regular 
work.  Two  more  are  enough  for  reading,  and  miscellaneous 
extras.     This  leaves  fourteen  hours ;    of  which  you  need  six  to 


66  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

seven  for  sleep.  Never  take  less  than  six,  and  more  if  you  find 
it  needful ;  say  seven,  and  then  you  have  seven  left  for  meals 
and  exercise,  etc. 

To-day,  we  bury  your  friend,  Perlee  Spinning.  Lizzie  sends 
a  paper  containing  all  we  know  of  his  death.  He  became  sick 
at  Nashville,  set  off  for  home,  and  died  on  the  way.  A  sad  blow 
to  the  bereaved  family. 


XXVIII 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  14  Nov.,  1864. 
My  dear  John : 

We  are  gratified  by  the  punctuaHty  of  your  correspondence ; 
cannot  rest  on  Saturday  tiU  we  hear  from  you.  You  never  speak 
of  your  health;  but  we  infer  from  the  sparkhng  air  of  your 
letters  that  you  are  well. 

I  am  glad  that  the  authorities  have  interfered  to  stop  the 
barbarous  and  disgraceful  custom  of  "hazing."  I  see  that  Bow- 
doin  (Me.)  has  no  Sophomore  class  now;  having  suspended 
eleven  and  rusticated  the  whole  remainder,  on  account  of  hazing. 
It  is  a  remnant  of  the  old  English  college  and  school  usages, 
"more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance,"  which  no 
American  should  imitate.  Boys  may  and  should  have  their 
sport ;  but  both  Christianity  and  civilization  forbid  that  it  should 
infringe  on  the  rights  of  others. 

I  have  not  heard  from  you  in  reply  to  my  inquiries  and  sug- 
gestions about  exercise.  Have  you  joined  the  Gymnasium?  I 
saw  a  joke  lately,  about  the  ten-pin  alley  at  Yale,  to  the  credit 
of  Prof.  T.  (Thatcher,  I  suppose),  who  requested  an  old  alum- 
nus to  visit  the  alley,  and  take  a  game  with  him.  The  alumnus 
replied,  with  a  look  of  wonder.  Why !  I  was  expelled  from  Yale 
20  years  ago  for  playing  ten-pins ! 

Alfred  seems  to  be  applying  himself  diligently  at  Oxford  ; 
but  I  cannot  persuade  him  to  exercise  of  any  sort:  it  is  unpop- 
ular there ;  and  I  fear  the  result  to  his  health.  He  looked  much 
paler  when  last  at  home  than  when  in  the  army ;  though  he  said 
he  was  perfectly  well.  I  wrote  to  him  to  preserve  all  your  letters 
in  the  original  envelope.  You  do  the  same.  They  will  be  pleas- 
ing to  review  some  day.  I  would  advise  you  to  cat  your  enve- 
lopes at  the  top;  not  tear  them  open:  replace  the  letters,  (all 
you  receive  that  are  at  all  worth  re-reading) ,  in  the  envelope ; 


68  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

and  label  them  on  the  outside,  as  you  have  seen  me  do.     Wrap 
them  in  bundles  for  future  reference. 

Nothing  of  consequence  occurs  here.  The  election  passed 
off  very  quietly.  I  regard  the  result  as  more  honorable  to  the 
American  people  than  any  act  in  their  history.  In  the  midst  of 
so  costly  and  bloody  a  civil  war,  to  have  sustained,  in  calm  and 
quiet  dignity,  the  strain  of  a  Presidential  election,  without  the 
occurrence  of  a  single  outbreak ;  and  to  have  vindicated,  by  so 
splendid  a  majority,  the  great  principles  of  justice  and  humanity, 
affords  an  argument  for  republican  government,  such  as  all  the 
despots  and  aristocrats  of  the  old  world,  (the  Times  and  Black- 
wood included),  can  never  answer.  (By  the  way,  A^at.  calls  the 
latter,  Blackhood,  supposing  it  was  named  from  the  cap  on  the 
man's  head  in  the  vignette !  Not  so  bad  for  a  three  year  old ! 
is  it?)      , 

I  owe  you  a  letter  on  a  course  of  reading;  would  write  it  now, 
but  my  study  (the  west  room)  is  invaded  by  your  mother,  sister, 
a  sewing  woman.  Will,  and  Nat.  The  sewing  machine  rattles, 
and  the  ladies  clatter,  and  the  babies  chatter,  so  that  I  can  hardly 
compose  my  thoughts  for  a  hasty  scrawl. 

Your  letters  are  always  interesting.  Do  not  think  I  com- 
plain of  them  when  I  say  that  I  would  like  to  hear  a  little  more 
of  college  matters.  I  want  to  see  the  inside  of  college  life  at 
Yale.  How  often  do  you  recite?  At  what  hours?  How  long 
are  the  recitations?  How  do  you  like  the  Professors,  Tutors, 
etc.?  What  of  the  chapel,  Societies,  Clubs,  Prayer  Meetings, 
Sermons,  Religious  Associations,  etc.? 

*  *  * 

Yr.  affect.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXIX 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  18th  Nov.,  1864. 
My  dear  John : 

*  *  I  read  yesterday  a  pamphlet  that  I  would  send  you  if  I 
owned,  or  could  procure  a  copy ;  Dr.  Tayler  Lewis'  State  Rights, 
a  Photograph  from  the  Ruins  of  Ancient  Greece.  It  is  capitally 
written;  draws  the  parallel  between  the  autonomy  (avrovofxla) 
of  old  Greece,  and  the  modern  Calhoun  doctrine.  He  shows  that 
Greece  was  ruined  by  the  opposition  to  a  national  government, 
which  would  have  controlled  domestic  faction.  Sparta  was  the 
South  Carolina  of  Greece,  and  Attica  her  Massachusetts.  Writ- 
ten before  the  election,  it  has  a  sadder  tone  than  Lewis  would 
have  given  it  since.  He  throws  light  on  that  oration  of  Demos- 
thenes, for  the  Crown,  which  you  will  read  at  Yale,  I  hope ; 
especially  on  the  famous  passage  — "I  szvear  by  the  dead  at  Mar- 
athon," etc.     If  you  can  find  the  pamphlet,  read  it. 

I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  handed  in  your  certificate  to  the 
College  Church,  but  remember  it  was  not  a  dismission,  and  that 
your  name  remains  on  our  church  roll.  Your  connection  there 
is  only  temporary,  and  really  associates  you  with  no  particular 
denomination  of  Christians.  It  is  intended  only  for  the  beneifit 
of  students  while  in  College ;  and  leaves,  as  it  should  do,  your 
proper  church  standing  unaltered.  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  how 
your  religious  exercises,  in  chapel  and  prayer-meetings,  are  con- 
ducted ;  and  how  you  like  them.  Do  you  take  part  in  prayer  ? 
I  hope  so ;  you  can  never  begin  under  so  favorable  circumstances. 

How  do  you  like  Homer  in  his  travels?  I  regret  that  I  have 
not  been  able  to  review  the  Odyssey  with  you.  But  what  with 
endless  work  about  the  house,  visiting  my  people,  and  preparing 
sermons,  I  have  so  far  had  my  hands  full  without  Ulysses. 

You  know  that  Dr.  McDermont  carried  my  horse  to  Louis- 
ville.     I  have  since  had  the  oflfer  of  Mr.  Henry  and  John  Stod- 


70  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

dard's  horses,  whenever  I  like  to  ride.  I  have  used  the  former 
frequently.  She  gallops  very  well.  Yesterday,  Mr.  Dick  Phil- 
lips very  kindly  offered  me  the  use  of  Horry's  fine  white  horse, 
so  famous  for  his  racking.  I  begin  this  afternoon.  So  I  am 
handsomely  furnished  in  the  horse  line,  despite  loosing  both  my 
boys,  and  Jessie ! 

Farewell,  my  dear  boy !  Nothing  prevents  me  from  being 
heart-sick  at  the  thought  of  your  absence,  but  the  joyful  remem- 
brance that  you  are  enjoying  the  best  opportunities  America 
affords  for  obtaining  a  thorough  education. 


XXX 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  28  Nov.,  1864. 
My  dear  John: 

Your  long  and  pleasant  letter  of  the  23rd  reached  us  this 
evening.  I  read  it  at  the  supper  table ;  and  it  would  have  amused 
you  to  hear  the  questions  put  on  every  side.  Nat.,  who  is  a 
shrewd  observer  and  listener,  and  who  often  stops  me  at  wor- 
ship, as  I  read  the  Scriptures,  to  ask  what  some  strange  word 
means,  "altar,"  "tabernacle,"  etc.,  inquired  what  you  meant  by 
"skins,"  "ponies,"  etc.  Will  had  his  difficulties  too;  and  all  had 
some  remark  to  make.  I  assure  you  that  your  letters  create 
quite  a  sensation  in  our  domestic  circle,  and  are  voted,  unani- 
mously, capital  good  things. 

I  am  quite  satisfied  as  to  your  separation  from But 

it  was  well  that  you  found  a  place  for  the  sole  of  your  foot,  till 
you  could  secure  a  more  congenial  companion.  I  advise  you  to 
be  very  careful  in  the  selection  of  your  next  room-mate.  A 
few  dollars  are  of  little  consequence  compared  with  the  conse- 
quences of  an  injudicious  choice.  I  suppose  the  matter  rests 
with  you.  Indeed,  in  many  respects,  it  is  preferable  to  room 
alone ;  as  it  gives  you  the  opportunity  of  retirement,  at  pleasure. 
Your  chum  ought  to  be  a  Christian,  at  all  events ;  that  your  Sab- 
baths may  be  profitable,  and  that  you  may  have  morning  and 
evening  worship  together.  Do  not  forget  this.  A  member  of 
your  own  class  is  better  than  a  member  of  another  class ;  a  good 
scholar,  close  student,  one  with  whom  you  could  study  profitably. 
He  should  not  be  much  older,  or  younger  than  yourself.  Of 
course,  you  would  not  select  one  who  is  not  gentlemanly,  and 
neat,  in  his  personal  habits  and  deportment.  Let  me  hear  from 
you  on  this  subject  before  you  decide  it;  and  tell  me  whom  you 
are  thinking  of. 

I  have  no  anxiety  about  the  "pony"  on  Horace.  You  will 
not  ride  him  until  you  have  walked  over  the  course  yourself. 


72  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

When  you  have  done  your  best  to  prepare  a  lesson,  and  then  run 
over  a  good  literal  translation  to  fortify,  or  correct,  your  own 
reading,  no  evil,  or  perhaps,  some  good  will  result.  Yet  the 
habit  of  forming  an  independent  judgment,  on  the  grotmd  of 
grammatical  facts,  is  invaluable :  do  not  let  your  use  of  ponies 
interfere  with  this.  I  earnestly  desire  you  to  be  a  thorough  and 
finished  classical  scholar.  Our  age  demands  scholarship  of  the 
highest  order.  Mediocrity  will  be  neither  pleasing  nor  profit- 
able, even  to  yourself.  A  man  can  never  speak  confidently  on  a 
subject  which  he  has  not  sounded  to  the  bottom.  If  it  be  un- 
fathomable, he  will  wish  to  know  it  by  experiment.  "A  little 
learning"  may  not  always  be,  as  Pope  calls  it  "a  dangerous  thing" ; 
but  certainly  it  is  always  very  unsatisfactory. 

Lay  your  foundations  deep,  in  a  complete  mastery  of  the 
grammar  of  any  language  you  learn.  There  can  be  no  success 
without  this.  Analize,  as  you  go,  every  word,  form,  mode  of 
construction,  etc.  Fix  the  principles  of  syntax  in  your  mind, 
not  as  a  mere  formula,  committed  to  memory;  but  by  ascertain- 
ing the  reason  for  every  fact.  The  Greeks,  or  Latins,  governed 
the  genitive,  for  example,  by  such  a  noun,  or  verb,  not  at  ran- 
dom, but  because  some  rational  process  of  thought  suggested,  or 
required  it.  In  other  words,  no  rules,  or  modes  of  speech,  are 
arbitrary ;  however  singular  they  may  seem  to  us  ;  but  have  some 
ground  in  the  forms  of  thought.  Find  them  out ;  make  them 
your  own :  you  are  the  master  of  the  rule.  The  best  grammars 
will  point  out  these  processes  of  thought.  Sciolists  content  them- 
selves with  an  ipse  dixit:  Sum,  taken  for  habeo,  to  have,  gov- 
erns the  —  no  matter  what ;  —  governs  the  boy  in  his  translations. 

I  am  very  glad  that  your  tutor  has  put  you  upon  the  study  of 
cognate  roots.  The  easiest  way  to  remember  a  new  word  is  to 
associate  it  with  some  thing  already  known  by  a  philological  con- 
nection. I  taught  you  a  smattering  of  this  in  Homer.  There  is 
a  close  relationship  between  Sanscrit,  for  instance,  and  the  occi- 
dental tongues.  The  family  of  Japhet  settled  originally  in  Per- 
sia; and  when  they  removed  to  Europe  they  left  the  original 
stock  in  Asia.  Hence  the  term,  Indo-European  to  designate  the 
Japhetian  family  of  languages.  See  this  connection  briefly  traced 
in  the  introduction  to  Webster's   quarto  Dictionary:     Sanscrit, 


To  His  Son  73 

Persian,  Celtic,  Teutonic;  Welsh,  Armonic,  Danish,  Swedish, 
German,  Greek,  Latin,  and  the  modern  tongues  descending  from 
Latin.  There  is  to  me  an  indescribable  pleasure  in  tracing  out 
these  facts  of  comparative  philology;  though  I  have  never  en- 
joyed the  leisure,  or  means,  necessary  to  pursue  such  inquiries 
extensively.  But,  so  far  as  you  can  trace  out  such  relationships, 
they  give  one  of  the  best  aids  to  the  recollection  of  what,  without 
such  associations,  are  arbitrary  sounds.  When  you  come  to  study 
Hebrew,  Gesenius,  in  his  Lexicon,  will  illustrate  the  connection 
between  the  Oriental  and  Occidental  languages. 

Your  description  of  your  tutors  and  professors  is  both  graphic 
and  amusing.  Never  forget,  however,  that  whatever  defects,  or 
infirmities,  you  may  fancy  them  to  discover,  you  owe  them  re- 
spect and  obedience,  not  only  for  wrath's  sake,  (marks),  but  for 
conscience'  sake.  Boys  will  always  nickname  their  teachers, 
I  suppose ;  and  old-Iimpy-'ad  is  both  witty  and  classical ;  but  it 
is  neither  respectful  nor  gentlemanly,  as  an  every  day  name 
for  a  worthy  Professor.  While  you  may,  without  impropriety, 
explain  the  soubriquet  to  us,  or  others,  you  should  not  allow 
yourself  to  employ  it  there.  The  principle  of  the  Old  Testament 
precept,  "Thou  shalt  not  revile  the  gods,  nor  curse  the  rulers  of 
thy  people,"  applies  in  this  case.  People  who  are  always  speak- 
ing of  their  President  as  old  Abe,  or  old  Buck,  are  not  likely  to 
regard  him  as  "God's  minister,"  ordained  to  this  work  of  gov- 
ernment, (Rom.  Xni).  So,  too,  young  gentlemen  who  habitu- 
ally designate  their  Professors  as  old  Had,  etc.,  etc.,  will  likely 
lose  not  only  respect  for  their  teachers,  but  self-respect  also.  I 
trust  you  do  not  need  the  advice  I  give  you,  in  this  matter. 

You  say,  'T  have  made  quite  a  change  lately,"  etc.  This  is 
a  breach  of  grammar.  The  lately  removes  the  transaction  into 
the  past:  but  the  perfect  tense  includes  the  present.  'T  made 
quite  a  change  lately"  would  be  correct.  Let  me  add  that  this 
is  the  only  error  I  have  seen  in  your  letters  from  Yale.  Yet  I 
may  suggest  a  little  more  care  in  punctuation.  You  often  employ 
a  comma,  where  a  semi-colon  is  needed;  and  sometimes  a  semi- 
colon, where  you  should  put  a  period.  Do  not  neglect  these  little 
things.     I  want  my  son  to  be  a  finished  scholar. 


74  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

Your  Q.  E.  D.  is  excellent.  One  letter  a  week  to  some  one 
in  the  family  is  enough ;  unless  you  have  leisure  and  disposition 
to  write  more.  We  do  not  expect  an  answer  to  every  letter  of 
ours. 

*  *  * 

I  have  been  quite  busy  for  a  week  or  two.  Last  Friday  even- 
ing week  we  had  a  meeting  at  the  Court  House  to  discuss  the 
question  of  providing  relief  for  the  families  of  soldiers.  I  at- 
tended, and  opposed  the  project  of  holding  another  Bazaar,  such 
as  we  had  last  Winter.  I  objected  to  the  immorality  of  the  raf- 
fling, which  characterized  the  affair ;  and  to  imposing  so  heavy  a 
burden  upon  the  ladies,  several  of  whom  were  sick  for  weeks  in 
consequence  of  their  toil  and  exposure.  Several  of  our  leading 
citizens  concurred  with  me  in  opinion, —  S.  Gebhart,  Mr.  Odlin, 
etc.  Strange  to  say,  Mr.  R.  W.  Steele  and  Col.  J.  G.  Lowe  were 
my  chief  opponents ;  and  they  carried  a  modified  resolution  in 
favor  of  a  fair.  Subsequently,  reflection  has  strengthened  my 
position  in  the  public  mind ;  and  strenuous  efforts  are  now  mak- 
ing to  secure  a  subscription  which  will  obviate  the  necessity  for  a 
Bazaar. 

On  the  morning  of  that  Friday,  Mr.  Steele  called  on  me  to 
address  a  meeting  at  Huston  Hall,  to  consider  the  propriety  of 
erecting  a  public  monument  in  Dayton,  in  honor  of  the  heroes 
of  Montgomery  County  who  have  fallen  in  the  war.  Of  course, 
I  had  no  time  for  preparation :  in  fact,  I  attempted  none,  except 
to  run  over  the  subject  in  my  mind,  while  indulging  in  a  horse- 
back ride  of  three  hours,  just  before  meeting  time.  The  subject, 
(monuments),  was  generally  supposed  to  be  dry  and  hard;  but 
the  house  was  well  filled  by  a  select  audience.  My  talk  of  an 
hour  seemed  to  carry  away  the  hearers,  who  applauded  to  the 
echo.     Col.  Chas.  Anderson  followed  me. 

On  Thanksgiving  day,  our  house  was  well-filled  by  a  congre- 
gation of  which  fully  three  fourths  were  gentlemen.  I  preached 
from  Prov.  22,  28.  Remove  not  the  ancient  landmarks  which 
thy  father  set  up.  A  brief  outline  was  afterwards  furnished  for 
the  Journal,  at  the  editor's  request.  The  girls  will  send  it.  But 
the  outline  compares  with  the  discourse,  as  the  skeleton  remains 
of   a   Thanksgiving  turkey   with   the   uncarved   bird.     You    will 


To  His  Son  75 

excuse  these  references  to  myself.  I  should  mention  them  to 
no  one  but  my  own  children :  but  I  thought  you  would  be  inter- 
ested in  them. 

On  Sabbath  morning,  I  preached  upon  2  Cor.  II  :14,  16.  The 
passage  is  a  striking  one ;  an  allusion  to  a  Roman  triumph. 
Leverett,  under  Triumpho,  briefly  states  the  facts  of  the  pageant. 
The  victor,  met  by  the  Senate  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  was  borne 
in  a  splendid  car,  drawn  by  white  horses,  to  the  Capitol.  He  was 
dressed  in  the  Toga  picta  and  Tunica  palmata:  around  his  head 
was  a  laurel  wreath;  and  in  his  hand  an  ivory  sceptre.  Before 
him,  went  the  long  array  of  captives, —  Kings,  nobles,  soldiers, 
wopien ;  together  with  the  spoils  of  gold,  silver,  etc.,  and  the 
images  of  conquered  cities.  Behind  him  marched  his  faithful 
legions,  who  uttered  their  joy  in  every  kind  of  song.  (Old 
Brown's  spirit  went  marching  along!)  Around  him  rode  on 
horses  his  chief  officers,  Legati,  the  companions  of  his  triumph. 
On  their  route,  flowers  and  sweet  odors  were  widely  scattered ; 
the  victor's  car  was  filled  with  flowers. 

Plutarch,  in  his  Acmilius  (see  your  class.  Diet.)  speaks  of  the 
streets  as  dvixia.jxa.To%  irk-qpeis  Arrived  at  the  Capitol,  some  of 
the  captives  were  doomed  to  death ;  others  were  set  free.  x\s 
the  painted  cap  in  the  Spanish  Auto  da  Fe,  indicated  his  fate  to 
the  heretic,  so  the  odors  in  the  triumph  reminded  the  captives 
of  their  approaching  fate.  To  some  it  was  the  token  of  a  dread- 
ful death ;   to  others,  of  speedy  release. 

So  Paul  saw  by  the  eye  of  faith  the  triumphal  progress  of  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  in  the  diffusion  of  a  preached  gospel. 
As  one  of  Christ's  Legati,  he  shared  in  the  triumph ;  in  fact, 
was  "made  himself  to  triumph."  The  knowledge  of  the  Gospel 
spread  abroad  a  divine  odor  along  the  pathway  of  that  procession. 
It  foretells  the  eternal  destiny  of  all  who  hear  the  word.  As 
some  creatures,  endowed  with  a  morbid  sensibility,  are  said  to 
"Die  of  a  rose  in  aromatic  pain,"  so  even  the  sweet  perfume 
of  the  name  of  Jesus  is  of  deadly  influence  to  his  enemies. 

The  Gospel,  as  preached  by  the  apostles,  excited  only  con- 
tempt among  the  great  ones  of  the  world.  Tacitus  speaks  of  it 
as  "superstitio  exsecrahilis,"  (I  have  not  the  passage  at  hand  — 
perhaps  that  is  not  the  adjective  he  uses;)   and  Suetonius  says 


76  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

that  the  Jews  were  instigated  in  their  seditions  by  "one  Chrestus!" 
Little  thought  they  that  this  despised  Gospel  was  undermining 
the  foundations  of  their  false  religions,  philosophies,  and  govern- 
ments ;  that  in  three  centuries  Christianity  should  be  seated  on 
the  throne  of  the  Caesars.  As  the  Gospel  is  diffused  among 
men,  as  we  hear  it  preached  from  day  to  day,  silently  and  imper- 
ceptibly as  the  falling  of  dew  or  snow,  our  souls  are  moulded  by 
its  influence  for  weal  or  woe.  How  solemn  the  thought !  melted 
or  hardened  by  every  sermon,  chapter,  prayer ! 

Judge  Storer  and  Mr.  Chamberlain,  of  Cincinnati,  were  at  our 
church  yesterday  morning;  and  at  night  addressed  a  full  house 
in  the  Baptist  Church ;  a  union  service.  $700  were  contributed 
to  the  Christian  commission  which  they  represented. 

Mother,  Lizzie,  Will,  Nat.  and  I  spend  the  day  at  Mr.  Chas. 
Spinning's, —  going  now.  Farewell !  God  guide  you,  my  dear 
boy. 

Yr.  aff.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXI 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  1  March,  1865. 

My  dear  John : 

We  received  your  letter,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  New 
Haven  Courier,  giving  an  account  of  the  Sophomore  and  Fresh- 
man "rush,"  etc.  *  * 

Beginning  to  feel  my  nervous  system  unstrung,  your  mother 
and  I  thought  best  to  accept  Maj.  Millikin's  kind  invitation  to 
rest  for  a  week  at  Maplewood;  so  on  Saturday  last,  we  went 
there.  Tuesday  we  spent  the  night  at  Dr.  Falconer's, —  Maj. 
Millikin  and  wife  meeting  us  there.  Wednesday,  we  went  to 
Oxford,  to  attend  the  celebration  of  the  22nd  (Washington's 
birthday),  by  a  college  exhibition,  in  which  Alfred  was  to  take 
part.  There  were  nine  speeches, —  Alfred's  as  long  as  any ;  and, 
if  I  am  a  fair  judge,  by  far  the  best  delivered.  He  spoke  some- 
what too  rhetorically,  as  was  to  be  expected  in  a  first  effort.  His 
theme  was  "Abraham  Lincoln."  Be  sure  it  was  loyally  and 
patriotically  handled.  Indeed,  every  speech  but  one,  (the  subject 
of  which  was  "Literature",)  was  of  the  most  decidedly  loyal  type. 

On  Thursday,  the  day  of  prayer  for  colleges,  I  spoke  at  a 
union  meeting  where  nearly  all  the  Faculty  of  the  University 
were  present;  and  at  1:30  P.  M.,  I  preached  before  150  young 
ladies  at  the  Western  Female  Seminary,  at  the  special  request  of 
Miss  Peabody,  the  principal,  on  the  observance  of  the  day  of 
prayer.  By  the  way,  was  the  day  observed  in  New  Haven?  I 
saw  lately  a  report  of  the  religious  condition  of  several  colleges, 
prepared  at  Andover,  Mass.,  and  was  sorry  to  see  the  "low  estate" 
at  Yale,  spiritually.  In  the  relative  number  of  Christians  among 
the  students,  as  well  as  of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  Amherst 
was  far  before  Yale.  Oh  for  a  revival  of  pure  and  undefiled 
religion  among  the  600  pupils  of  the  first  literary  institution  in 
America !     How  powerful  an  influence  for  good  would  it  exert 


78  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

over  the  coming  generation !  Had  John  C.  Calhoun,  a  Yalensian 
of  the  class  of  1804,  I  believe,  been  a  devoted  Christian  minister, 
instead  of  an  ambitious  demagogue,  how  different  would  have 
been  the  history  of  our  beloved  country ! 

Yr.  affectionate  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXII 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  6  Mar.,  1865. 
My  dear  John : 

We  received  to-day  your  letter  to  May.  Glad  to  see  that 
you  are  in  such  fine  spirits,  from  which  we  infer  that  your  health 
is  good.  You  must  not  be  surprised,  however,  to  learn  that  we 
do  not  altogether  sympathize  with  you  about  rushes.  Your  moth- 
er and  I  feel  some  anxiety  about  the  effect  of  such  scenes  and 
associations  upon  your  character.  The  snatches  of  song  you 
sent  were  amusing;  except  that  I  regretted  to  see  one  word 
written,  for  which  "gayest"  would  have  been  a  happier  expres- 
sion. The  other  is  simply  a  cowardly  way  of  swearing.  No 
doubt  that  even  a  more  explicit  term  was  in  the  original ;  and 
you  did  not  feel  yourself  responsible  for  the  song.  But  remem- 
ber that  the  spirit  of  the  precept  which  forbid  the  Hebrews  "to 
take  up  the  names  of  idols  in  their  mouth"  applies  also  to  Chris- 
tians. Many  a  word  familiar  to  the  world  would  defile  a  Chris- 
tian mouth. 

Rushes,  no  doubt,  are  as  well  conducted  rows  as  one  can 
reasonably  expect.  Still,  they  are  remnants  of  ruffianism,  utterly 
unbecoming  the  young  men  of  America;  however  natural  to  the 
unpolished  ages  of  brute  force  from  which  they  have  descended. 
It  was  once  the  fashion  for  London  gentlemen  to  go  about  at 
night  breaking  the  heads  of  policemen  with  cudgels.  George  the 
Fourth,  when  Prince  of  Wales,  was  not  exempt  from  that  infirm- 
ity. The  modern  gentleman  who  should  fancy  the  recreation 
would  soon  find  himself  in  the  watch-house.  Your  young  gentle- 
men at  Yale  merely  mock  the  officers  of  the  law  in  low  ballads. 
The  one  is  as  much  out  of  character  as  the  other. 

You  need  have  no  concern  about  my  health.  During  January 
and  February,  I  omitted  much  of  my  usual  horseback  exercise. 
Since  then  I  have  been  riding  daily.  I  am  now  as  well  as  I  have 
ever  been  for  the  two  years  past ;    and  as  well  as  I  expect  ever 


80  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

to  be :  though  not  so  capable  of  close  study  as  in  former  years. 
I  once  thought  nothing  of  sixteen  hours  a  day  hard  reading. 
That  day  is  over,  and  likely  will  not  return.  But  I  am  thankful 
to  God  for  the  measure  of  strength  and  health  allowed  me. 

You  know  that  Col.  Jno.  G.  Lowe,  and  R.  P.  Brown  with 
others,  united  with  the  church  last  December.  Col.  Lowe  now 
has  charge  of  the  young  men's  class  in  the  Sabbath  School,  and 
makes  a  capital  teacher,  the  bo)^s  say.  Judge  Ralph  Lowe  of 
Iowa,  was  at  church  yesterday,  with  his  wife.  The  three  brothers, 
P.  P.,  J.  G.  and  the  Judge,  sat  down  at  the  Lord's  table  together 
for  the  first  time.     It  was  a  pleasant  meeting. 

Have  you  any  understanding  with  your  grandfather  that  you 
are  to  spend  the  April  vacation  at  Northboro?  He  is  very  fond 
of  you :  wrote  very  kindly  about  your  last  visit  there ;  but  sug- 
gested that  your  very  social  and  agreeable  disposition  might 
expose  you  to  some  snares  in  college :  a  suggestion  that  you  will 
appreciate  more  highly  hereafter,  perhaps,  than  at  present. 

You  will  notice  on  your  return  that  Dayton  has  much  improved. 
*  *  *  Familiarized,  as  you  are,  to  the  elegant  establishments 
about  New  Haven,  perhaps  these  new  affairs  at  home  may  seem 
less  interesting.  But  I  think  Dayton  a  far  more  pleasant  place, 
—  intellectual  attractions  apart, —  than  the  Elm  city.  Our  chief 
want,  as  a  city,  is  intellectual  cultivation.  Our  gentlemen  are  de- 
voted to  business ;  our  ladies  to  their  families,  and  their  pleasures. 
We  have  almost  no  literary,  or  scientific  atmosphere.  We  have 
not  a  few  college  graduates;  but  not  one,  so  far  as  I  know,  that 
cultivates  literature,  science,  or  philosophy,  for  any  other  than 
business  or  professional  purposes.  The  delights  of  which  I^.Iilton 
speaks, 

"How  charming  is  divine  philosophy ! 
Not  harsh  and  crabbed,  as  dull  fools  suppose : 
'Tis  a  perpetual  feast  of  nectared  sweets, 
W'here  no  crude  surfeit  reigns :  — " 
are  unknown  to  our  Daytonians. 

All  unite  in  love.  Remember  me  kindly  to  Fowler  Stoddard, 
and  Horace  Phillips,  and  to  Dr.  Dutton. 

Your  affectionate  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXIII 
TO  HIS  SON,  JOHN 


Dayton,  O.,  27  March,  1865. 
My  dear  John : 

Your  last,  to  your  Mother,  post-marked  the  15th,  did  not  reach 
us  till  the  2r)th ;  ten  days  on  the  way.  We  must  "make  long 
patience"  with  the  mails,  as  the  Welsh  woman  said  to  the  bride. 

Perhaps,  as  you  suggest,  your  mother  and  I  may  underrate 
the  religious  influences  at  Yale ;  as  we  are  not  very  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  facts  and  persons  to  be  known  in  order  to  a  correct 
judgment.  I  highly  appreciate  the  intellectual  advantages  of  the 
college ;  and  I  cannot  but  wish  that  her  spiritual  privileges  may 
be  of  equal  excellence.  Your  occasional  allusions  to  the  sermons 
you  hear,  have  not,  I  confess,  impressed  me  favorably.  Yet  I 
may  underestimate  them  too.  I  am  glad  that  you  attend,  value 
and  enjoy  the  social  religious  services.  Well  conducted,  they 
are  of  unspeakable  importance. 

*  *  I  am  pleased  with  your  quotations  from  Livy.  Though 
brief,  they  are  expressive  and  admirable,  conveying  a  favorable 
idea  of  the  good  sense  and  magnanimity  of  Fabius.  In  these,  as 
in  other  respects,  he  resembled  our  own  Washington.  I  shall  be 
glad  of  an  occasional  extract  from  Herodotus.  The  practice  of 
writing  Greek  is  easily  acquired,  and  is  beneficial.  Take  pains  to 
form  an  elegant  Greek  letter.  The  Porson  type  is  most  easily 
imitated. 

As  to  your  proposed  debate,  it  is  an  excellent  theme.  If 
allowed  to  choose  your  side,  you  will  be  wise  to  urge  the  danger 
from  intestine  factions.  The  United  States  can  never  be  de- 
stroyed by  foreign  arms  until  factions  within  have  ruined  her. 

AH  love  you. 

Aff.  Yr.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXIV 
TO  HIS  SON  AT  DARTMOUTH 


Dayton,  O.,  18  Sept.,  1865. 
My  dear  Alfred : 

We  received  your  very  welcome  letter,  containing  the  intelli- 
gence of  your  safe  arrival  at  Hanover,  and  your  admission  to 
the  Junior  class  in  the  college.  And  now  I  hope  and  expect  that 
your  diligent  application  to  study,  and  fidelity  in  all  duties,  will 
justify  the  assurances  which  your  friends  have  given  in  your 
behalf.  Remember,  my  dear  boy,  that  one-half  of  your  under- 
graduate course  has  been  completed.  How  soon  the  other  moiety 
will  pass,  you  may  judge  from  the  past.  What  you  want  is  not 
a  diploma,  but  scholarship.  Dependent,  under  God,  upon  your 
own  resources  for  the  future,  you  can  scarcely  appreciate  the 
value  of  your  present  opportunities.  In  college,  as  in  the  great 
world,  everything  is  to  be  gained,  (to  use  the  homely,  but  ex- 
pressive phrase  of  the  good  Lincoln),  by  "pegging  azvay."  Aspir- 
ing young  men  are  apt  to  look  for  progress  by  leaps ;  waiting  for 
the  opportunity  of  making  some  grand  coup:  (This  is  French,  as 
A.  Ward  would  say).  Whereas  it  is  the  "continual  dropping" 
which  "weareth  away  the  stone."  Steady  application  to  your 
daily  tasks  will  secure  scholarship;  and  nothing  else  zuill.  Con- 
sider that  each  lesson,  be  it  philosophy,  Latin,  or  even  Greek,  is 
a  stone  in  the  building  you  are  erecting;  and  if  it  be  poorly 
dressed,  or  badly  laid,  or  cemented  with  "untempered  mortar," 
the  ultimate  appearance,  if  not  the  value  and  durability  of  the 
structure  will  be  damaged. 

Give  particular  attention  now  to  the  formation  of  acquaint- 
ances.    You  are  among  strangers ;    but  you  go  with  some  little 
experience  of  the  world.     As  Polonius  says  to  Laertes, 
"And  these  few  precepts  in  thy  memory 

See  thou  character.     Give  thy  thoughts  no  tongue, 

Nor  any  unproportioned  thought  his  act. 

Be  thou  familiar,  but  by  no  means  vulgar." 


To  His  Son  at  Dartmouth  83 

(That  is  don't  make  yourself  too  common;  hail  fellow  with 
every  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry). 

"The  friends  thou  hast,  and  their  adoption  tried. 
Grapple  them  to  thy  soul  with  hoops  of  steel : 
But  do  not  dull  thy  palm  with  entertainment 
Of  each  new-hatched,  unfledg'd  comrade." 

You  keep  late  hours,  I  fear.  Students  are  strongly  tempted 
to  read  and  study  at  night;  sometimes  to  make  up  for  hours  of 
daylight  wasted  in  "bumming  about ;"  sometimes  through  exces- 
sively studious  habits.  One  great  lesson  to  be  learned  at  college 
is  self-control:  to  do  a  given  amount  of  work,  or  reasonable  task, 
at  the  proper  hours ;  and  not  to  overwork  oneself,  on  the  one 
hand,  nor  to  waste  time,  on  the  other.  A  firm  and  steady  appli- 
cation, despite  all  allurements ;  and  a  wise  regulation  even  of 
love  of  study  constitutes  the  happy  man.  *  * 

You  see  how  I  fall  to  moralizing  at  every  turn ;  and  perhaps 
may  smile  at  my  anxiety  on  all  these  points.  But  your  residence 
there  recalls  my  own  college  days  and  companions  with  all  the 
freshness  of  yesterday's  events.  And  oh  how  many  young  asso- 
ciates of  mine  have  long  since  finished  their  career!  Not  half 
my  own  class  (1834),  twenty-two  in  number,  are  now  alive. 
Many  of  them  died  early  in  life ;  and  of  those  then  in  other  classes, 
what  a  multitude  have  passed  away,  leaving  their  whole  course 
a  warning  to  survivors !  Intemperance  or  licentiousness  buried 
in  an  untimely  grave  fully  one-half  of  those  who  perished  early. 
The  deadliest  foes  of  youth,  they  beset  many  a  promising  young 
collegian ;  and  scarcely  one  who  yielded  to  their  seductions  now 
survives. 

Never,  till  your  oldest  son  goes  to  college,  and,  reviewing  the 
letter  of  his  grandfather  and  your  own  course  of  life,  you  ad- 
dress advice  and  caution  to  my  grandson,  can  you  appreciate  my 
feelings.  You  smile  at  such  language.  I  too,  should  have  smiled 
at  so  preposterous  a  train  of  thought.  Your  tomorrow  will  come 
sooner  than  you  imagine;  and  you  will  look  back  and  wonder 
whither  the  years  have  fled  that  once  opened  before  you  an  almost 
interminable  prospect.     I  would  have  your  retrospect  a  pleasant 


84  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

one;  more  charming,  indeed,  than  the  prospect  of  coming  years 
is  now.  It  may  be  so ;  and  now  is  the  time  to  secure  the  bless- 
ing. *  * 

Affectionately, 

Yr.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXV 
TO  HIS  SON 


Post  Office,  Dayton,  O.,  Nov.,  1865. 
My  dear  Alfred : 

^      ^      '^ 

I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  to  teach  school :  the  experience 
will  be  worth  something,  and  the  money  too.  You  know  I  am 
an  old  schoolmaster.  I  graduated  at  Oxford  on  Thursday  even- 
ing; and  left  to  teach  school  at  Rising  Sun,  Ind.,  at  four  the 
next  morning.  But  I  paid  my  tuition  all  through  college  by 
teaching  extra  classes  in  college.  And  I  had  taught  my  father's 
school  a  year  before  I  entered  college.  The  faculty  of  teaching 
belongs  to  the  Thomas  family,  inherited  from  both  grandparents. 
Let  me  give  you  this  piece  of  advice ;  and,  as  Burns  says, 
" — may  you  better  reck  the  reed  (mind  the  lesson) 
Than  ever  did  the  adviser." 
The  art  of  governing  a  school,  (the  chief  difficulty  in  school- 
keeping),  lies  in  two  words,—  GOVERN  YOURSELF.  If  you 
can  perfectly  control  your  own  temper,  keep  perfectly  cool,  you 
can  always  manage  others.  The  acquisition  will  be  worth  all  it 
costs,  both  now,  and  in  future  life.  Self-possession,  coolness  and 
self-mastery,  under  circumstances  of  extreme  provocation,  give 
one  an  advantage  not  to  be  estimated.  If  you  inherit  your  fath- 
er's qualities,  as  I  think  you  do  to  a  high  degree,  you  will  find 
the  management  of  your  temper  the  hardest  task  you  ever  under- 
took. And  yet  so  far  as  school  teaching  is  concerned,  I  do  not 
remember  that  I  ever  lost  my  temper  more  than  once  or  twice. 

Farewell !     Yr.  letters,  indicating  a  rapid  progress,  give  me 
great  satisfaction.  *  * 

Your  affectionate  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXVI 
TO  HIS  SON  AT  DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE 


Dayton,  O.,  8  Nov.,  1865. 

My  dear  Son  Alfred: 

*  *  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  discipline  is  not  dead  in  Dart- 
mouth. Your  narrative  of  the  Freshmen  and  Sophomore  rush, 
quelled  by  the  Juniors  and  Seniors  in  accordance  with  Presi- 
dent Smith's  order,  amused  us  very  much.  But  be  careful  not 
to  indulge  in  such  police  duties  too  often. 

I  am  gratified  with  your  Greek  quotation  from  Demosthenes. 
That  oration  has  been  a  favorite  with  all  the  great  orators  of 
modern  times.  Pitt  and  Fox  read  it  frequently.  Brougham  has 
translated  it,  I  believe ;  but  don't  ride  his  pony,  even  if  you  can 
catch  it.  Master  the  splendid  chef  d'oeuvre  of  the  old  Athenian 
mob-king.  Review  it  and  make  it  a  study  hereafter.  It  will 
repay  you.  By  the  way,  do  you  remember  that  when  Demos- 
thenes stood  on  the  B^/^a  in  the  amphitheatre  at  the  foot  of  the 
Acropolis,  pronouncing  this  oration,  he  could  see  the  mound 
raised  at  Marathon,  over  the  noble  dead  whom  he  apostrophizes ; 
it  was  only  ten  miles  to  the  east  of  Athens ;  —  so  insignificant 
was  the  extent  of  Attica  which  has  made  so  much  noise  in  the 
world !  Scarce  larger  than  Montgomery  Co.,  Ohio.  Words- 
worth mentions  this  fact  from  personal  observation ;  for  the 
B^/Att  still  stands  —  a  simple  stone  platform  in  the  'ayopd,  I  be- 
lieve. Have  you  my  Wordsworth's  Greece?  a  splendid  work, 
both  in  regard  to  text  and  style  of  publication.  Perhaps  you 
took  it :  I  have  not  seen  it  lately ;  if  not,  I  will  send  it  by  express. 
It  cost  $10,  and  may  be  out  of  print.  It  would  deeply  interest 
you  now  that  you  are  reading  the  higher  Greelv  authors. 

As  to  Oxford,  I  only  know  that  the  Board  vacated  all  the 
chairs  after  July  1st,  186G ;  and  that  the  Trustees  intend  to  ofifer 
their  resignation.  The  aim  is  to  secure  for  Miami  University 
the  $600,000  granted  by  the  General  Government  for  an  Agri- 


To  His  Son  at  Dartmouth  College  87 

cultural  College,  by  offering  the  State  Institution  unembarrassed 
by  any  incumbrances.  If  the  plan  goes,  very  likely  some  dis- 
tinguished scientific  savant,  (pronounced  sah  vong), —  a  learned 
layman  will  be  placed  at  its  head. 

You  have  learned  from  your  brother  or  sisters  of  the  wedding 
mania  prevailing  in  Dayton.  I  married  David  A.  Bradford  to 
Miss  Lehman ;  Robt.  W.  Steele  to  Miss  Clara  Steele ;  Jno.  R. 
More  to  Millie  Darrow  I  should  have  married  the  same  week, 
but  for  the  failure  of  a  telegram;  Chas.  Clegg  to  Hattie  Pease, 
two  weeks  ago;  William  Wallace  to  Etta  Gregg  last  week;  and 
a  dozen  more,  some  say  twenty-five,  occur  before  Christmas ; 
Jno.  Hatfield,  Minnie  Edgar,  Fanny  Lowe  among  others.  This 
is  the  blessed  result  of  peace,  and  a  restored  Union !  Good  for 
me  too ;  for  I  find  hard  work  to  make  both  ends  meet,  and  so 
many  wedding  fees  are  acceptable. 

Let  your  school  teaching  lead  you  to  a  careful  review  of 
English  Grammar  and  Spelling.  You  may  not  have  so  favorable 
an  opportunity  again ;  and  an  accurate  knowledge  of  your  mother 
tongue,  written  and  spoken,  will  be  of  immense  service  to  you. 
Read  a  good  Grammar  of  the  best  character,  carefully ;  examine 
the  principles  and  philosophy  of  language.  You  will  find  it  a 
charming  study,  now  that  you  have  more  acquaintance  with  the 
structure  of  other  languages.  Pay  attention  to  the  niceties  of 
prosody ;  a  part  of  Grammar  usually  overlooked  by  boys  and 
girls  at  school.  The  little  things  are  of  no  little  value  in  com- 
position. 

All  send  love.  Last  Saturday  was  our  silver  wedding  day, 
celebrated  by  Nattie  assuming  the  Toga  Virilis  —  his  first  pants. 


XXXVII 

I 
TO  HIS  SON 


John: 

I  forgot  to  speak  of  your  debate.  Take  which  side  best  suits 
your  own  views.  I  sent  Dr.  Lewis'  Photograph  from  the  Ruins 
of  Ancient  Greece,  by  mail,  last  week.  Read  the  Pope's  encyc- 
lical letter.  You  will  find  it  in  Littell's  Living  Age,  for  Mar.  or 
Feb.  I  like  your  programme ;  and  you  will  find  it  easier  to 
debate  that  side :  the  other  requiring  more  knowledge  of  political 
history,  and  of  human  nature.  You  take  foreign  iiwasion  in  a 
wider  sense  than  I  supposed.  I  referred  it  simply  to  military 
invasion.  You  include  all  foreign  influences,  which  is  permis- 
sible, I  suppose.  At  the  beginning  of  this  government,  the  Cath- 
olic population  was  to  the  Protestant  as  one  to  87 :  now  it  is  as 
one  to  seven.     So  it  is  said. 

Do  not  spend  your  vacation  in  study.  Yet  I  am  glad  you 
have  entered  the  debate.  I  want  you  to  cultivate  the  art  of  ex- 
tempore speaking  —  which  includes  most  careful  preparation ; 
often  even  verbal  preparation ;  and  does  not  forbid  writing ;  but 
neither  reads  nor  memorizes  the  manuscript.  Hamilton,  we  are 
told,  the  foremost  orator  of  his  time,  wrote  out  all  his  forensic 
arguments, —  and  then  burned  the  MSS. 

In  the  sense  you  fix  on  for  invasion,  no  other  age  or  country 
supplies  an  analogy  to  ours.  For  never  was  so  glorious  a  land 
so  laid  upon,  and  made  attractive  to  the  adventurous  of  all  nations. 
What  the  Roman  Empire  sufifered  from  the  northern  nations  in 
arms ;  and  France  from  the  Northmen  of  Sweden  and  Denmark ; 
ours  may  sufifer  from  a  peaceable  invasion  like  that  of  the  locusts 
and  flies  on  Egypt. 

But  I  have  exhausted  my  ideas ;  having  written  six  letters 
this  morning,  after  preaching  twice,  and  attending  a  third  service 
yesterday,  and  being  awake  half  the  night  from  the  noise  about 
Lee's  surrender. 

May  God  guide  and  bless  you,  my  dear  boy ! 

Yr.  afif.  Father,       Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XXXVIII 
FROM  HIS  UNCLE,  THOMAS  SPENCER 


Bransby,  Lincoln,  29/3,  1866. 
My  dear  Nephew : 

I  sit  down  to  offer  thee  congratulations  of  thy  Aunt  and  my- 
self on  the  marriage  of  thy  daughter.  May  God  grant  that  the 
event  may  prove  a  source  of  comfort  to  parents  of  the  parties 
on  either  side ! 

I  have  not  had  the  grace  to  answer  thy  letter  announcing  the 
death  of  thy  mother.  It  was  a  letter  of  great  family  interest 
and  I  took  the  liberty  of  sending  it  to  several  of  thy  relations 
in  England ;  and  in  the  transfer  it  got  lost  or  mislaid.  Always 
expecting  that  it  would  turn  up  some  day,  I  kept  putting  off  my 
reply  —  it  was  a  capital  excuse  for  a  dilatory  correspondent,  and 
I  adopted  it.  When  Mary  May's  cards  arrived,  I  felt  that  I 
was  remembered  beyond  my  deserts;  my  conscience  burnt  like 
a  furnace.     I  beseech  thee  to  forgive  me. 

It  is  too  late  to  condole  with  thee,  and  it  would  be  unseemly 
in  me  to  attempt  to  revive  feeling  which  time  has  mellowed  down. 
I  always  entertained  a  profound  respect  for  thy  mother,  and  can- 
not help  regretting  that  we  were  not  permitted  to  meet  in  this 
life.  My  intercourse  with  thy  father  and  mother  was  not  fre- 
quent, or  at  any  time  of  long  continuance,  but  always  of  the  most 
affectionate  and  friendly  character.  My  recollections  of  thy 
■mother  are  the  most  perfect  of  her  as  she  appeared  before  she 
was  married.  From  some  fancy  or  passion,  about  1808,  she  had 
a  beautiful  head  of  hair  cropped  off,  and  her  first  appearance 
without  it  was  so  novel  that  it  made  a  deep  mark  in  my  memory. 
It  is  as  a  young  woman  that  she  lives  in  my  recollection,  and  I 
do  not  want  to  alter  the  picture. 

In  the  year  1816  you  were  —  parents  and  family  —  my  guests 
at  Clerkenwell  Green  near  Smithfield,  London,  for  a  short  time. 
It  was  at  this  period  that  thy  father  and  I  conceived  the  idea  of 


♦  90  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

emigrating  to  America.  Long  and  frequent  were  our  conversa- 
tions on  the  subject.  We  were  Radical  Republicans  of  that  day. 
It  was  during  thy  father's  stay  at  Clerkenwell  that  the  first  Na- 
poleon was  overthrown  and  banished  to  Elba.  On  the  arrival 
of  the  news,  London  was  frantic  with  delight,  and  illumination 
was  ordered  and  thy  father  and  I  went  out  to  see  the  sights.  It 
is  needless  to  say  they  were  splendid.  We  took  up  a  position 
behind  a  coach,  with  or  without  leave  of  the  owner,  I  cannot  now 
say.  It  was  the  best  possible  position  for  our  purpose,  for  as 
the  coach  passed  slowly  along  we  saw  most  perfectly  all  that  was 
to  be  seen.  Our  coach  made  one  of  the  line  that  passed  through 
one  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  city.  The  coach  that 
immediately  followed  us  was  driven  by  an  illnatured  fellow,  who 
repeatedly  endeavored  to  sweep  us  from  our  perch  with  his  pole 
—  the  pole  of  his  coach.  At  last  he  made  a  successful  lunge  and 
wounded  me  in  the  leg  and  made  my  trousers  a  scandal.  Thy 
father's  blood  was  up  in  an  instant,  and  jumping  down  he  bearded 
our  assailant  on  his  box  and  gave  him  a  sound  thrashing  with  a 
walking-stick.  Very  like  he  did  more  for  his  friend  and  brother 
than  he  would  have  done  for  himself.  And  clearly  —  I,  in  whose 
cause  the  onset  was  made,  have  every  reason  to  remember  it 
gratefully. 

One  of  thy  father's  peculiarities  was  his  firm  belief  in 
Satanic  influence.  Indeed,  in  early  life,  he  believed  that  we  were 
always  surrounded  by  spiritual  influences  —  good  or  evil.  We 
were  walking  together  one  day  through  some  street  in  London, 
deeply  engaged  in  an  interesting  conversation  of  a  religious  char- 
acter, when  some  wicked  or  mischievous  people  threw  some- 
thing at  us  from  an  upper  window.  For  a  moment  we  were  dis- 
concerted, and  lost  the  clew  of  our  conversation.  "There !"  ex- 
claimed thy  father,  "a  man  must  be  a  devil  himself  who  does  not 
believe  in  the  perpetual  working  of  the  evil  one.  The  great 
enemy  knew  that  we  were  pursuing  a  subject  closely  connected 
with  our  souls'  salvation,  and  he  devised  this  diversion  to  drive 
us  from  the  path  that  leads  to  life."  He  related  to  me,  that  on 
one  occasion,  being  sent  on  an  errand  when  a  lad,  his  path  led 
by  the  bank  of  a  river  —  when  lo !  suddenly  he  saw  the  faint 
shadow  of  someone  following  him,  a  shadow  but  no  substance. 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  91 

He  was  by  no  means  disconcerted,  but  took  it  for  the  good  angel 
that  always  had  him  in  charge. 

It  was  when  he  was  a  shepherd  lad  that  the  passion  for  letters 
first  possessed  him.  Having  obtained  a  spelling-book,  he  carried 
it  in  his  bosom  and  conned  some  self-imposed  task  at  every  inter- 
val of  leisure.  One  day  he  heard  his  master  complain  to  a  neigh- 
bor that  his  lad  was  found  at  every  touch  and  turn  with  a  book 
in  his  hand.  "Well,"  said  the  neighbor,  "I  should  not  like  him 
the  worse  for  that.  Depend  upon  it  that  boy  is  more  than  he 
seems  to  be ;  he  is  not  going  to  tend  sheep  or  hold  plow  all  his 
days."  This  was  large  encouragement,  and  he  applied  himself 
with  greater  diligence  than  ever  to  his  task. 

It  will  perhaps  surprise  thee  to  learn  that  thy  father  very 
considerably  contributed  to  make  me  a  Quaker.  In  one  of  his 
interesting  conversations,  he  gave  me  such  a  description  of 
Quakerism  that  I  inwardly  said  in  my  heart,  "This  should  be  my 
religion,"  and  in  due  time  executed  the  resolution. 

I  wish  thou  had  come  to  England,  as  we  once  hoped  that  thou 
would;  these  little  reminiscences  would  have  told  well  enough 
by  the  fireside,  when  they  cut  but  a  poor  figure  on  paper. 

Of  England  news  I  have  little  to  communicate.  In  the  Stally- 
brass  family  thou  would  find  men  of  thy  own  mold  and  mind,  and 
attainments,  and  particularly  in  Adolph  Sonnenschein  —  thy 
Uncle  Edward's  son-in-law.  I  need  hardly  state  to  thee  that 
as  long  as  thy  Aunt  and  I  are  alive  and  occupy  Bransby  thou 
hast  a  home  here,  should  thou  at  any  time  visit  Europe. 

The  cattle  plague  that  is  afflicting  this  country  is  a  cause  of 
serious  apprehension  to  ourselves  personally.  I  have  a  large 
stock  of  cattle  for  the  size  of  my  farm,  and  I  close  my  eyes  in 
fear  and  open  them  in  apprehension, —  there  is  no  cure  but  the 
poleaxe  or  the  halter.  It  is  all  around  us,  but  still  we  stand. 
Blessed  be  God  for  all  his  mercjes ! 

In  Ireland  the  Fenian  conspiracy  is  giving  trouble.  Here  in 
England  the  people  barely  notice  it.  John  Bull  is  a  very  im- 
passive sort  of  a  fellow  —  it  takes  a  great  deal  to  rouse  him. 
He  is  just  now  busy  about  a  new  Reform  Bill  that  is  to  make 
the  sufifrage  almost  universal.     The  old  constitution  of  England 


93  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

placed  political  power  in  the  hands  of  the  property  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  country.  We  need  no  Reform  Bill  —  the  silent  but 
certain  alteration  that  is  taking  place  in  the  value  of  money  is 
lowering  franchise  quite  as  fast  as  education  and  good  morals 
are  preparing  the  people  for  its  possession. 

A  ten  pound  rental  in  borough,  and  a  forty  shilling  freehold 
in  the  counties  give  a  man  a  vote  for  a  member  of  Parliament, 
and  these  qualifications  are  within  the  reach  of  any  decent  man. 
Formerly  forty  shillings  represented  the  annual  value  of  fifty 
acres  of  land ;  now,  it  does  not  fairly  represent  the  value  of  a 
single  acre. 

The  United  States  give  the  franchise  to  foreigners  by  far  too 
easy  —  a  twenty-year  probation  for  the  least  intelligent  among 
them,  would  be  none  too  much.  It  is  time  to  close.  I  am  get- 
ting on  perilous  ground.  Farewell  my  dear  Nephew  ;  with  much 
love  to  all  thy  family, 

Thy  ever  afifectionate  Uncle, 

Thomas  Spencer. 


XXXIX 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  16  Mar.,  1866. 

My  dear  Alfred: 

Your  letter  of  the  10th  just  came  to  hand.  I  was  glad  to 
receive  it ;  and  Willie  warmly  welcomed  his,  which  came  by  the 
same  mail. 

I  am  pleased  to  receive  your  account  of  your  grade.  It  is 
the  first  news  of  the  kind  I  have  received  since  you  entered  Dart- 
mouth. I  was  thinking  this  morning  that  I  ought  to  have  some 
report  soon.  I  do  not  exactly  understand  the  1.73.  Ordinarily, 
such  an  arithmetic  expression  would  indicate  one  phis  72;  as 
$1.72  is  so  much  over  one  dollar.  But  as  1  is  your  maximum, 
the  .72  must  be  a  deduction,  I  suppose ;  or  that  you  are  .28 
above  2.  Is  this  so?  Even  at  that  figure  the  grade  is  fair;  but 
I  shall  be  glad  to  see  it  bettered,  as  you  suggest.  Do  not  hesitate 
about  an  "exclusive"  devotion  to  text-books.  I  know  the  fond- 
ness of  active-minded  young  men  for  side-reading.  I  did  no 
little  of  it  myself  at  college.  In  fact,  I  did  a  great  deal  of  his- 
torical, biographic,  and  literary  reading.  Yet  if  I  had  my  course 
to  repeat,  (as,  alas!  we  never  can  have;  and  hence  the  neces- 
sity of  doing  aright  what  can  never  be  mended),  I  should  un- 
hesitatingly give  my  text-books  the  preference.  When  you  have 
mastered  your  regular  lessons,  and  find  spare  time  on  your  hands, 
then  read  a  little.  Ever  after  graduating  you  may  read  at  pleas- 
ure ;  but  your  classical  and  mathematical,  if  not  your  scientific 
studies,  zmll  close,  in  all  probability,  when  you  leave  college.  It 
should  not  be  so ;  but  in  nineteen  cases  out  of  twenty,  if  not  a 
far  higher  proportion,  so  it  is.  Besides,  you  are  seeking  mental 
discipline,  which  is  far  more  valuable  than  any  information  you 
can  gather. 

"In  the  hey-day  of  youthful  greediness  and  ambition,  when 
the  mind,  dazzled  by  the  vastness  and  variety  of  the  universe, 


94  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

must  needs  know  everything,  or  rather  know  about  everything, 
at  once  and  on  the  spot,  too  many  are  apt,  as  I  have  been  in  past 
years" — (he  should  say  —  as  I  was  in  past  years),  "to  complain 
of  Cambridge  studies  as  too  dry  and  narrow :  but  as  time  teaches 
the  student,  year  by  year,  what  is  really  required  for  an  under- 
standing of  the  objects  with  which  he  meets,  he  begins  to  find 
that  his  University,  in  as  far  as  he  has  received  her  teaching  into 
himself,  has  given  him,  in  her  criticism,  her  mathematics,  above 
all,  in  Plato,  something  which  all  her  popular  knowledge,  the 
lectures  and  institutions  of  the  day,  and  even  good  books  them- 
selves cannot  give,  a  boon  more  precious  than  learning;  namely, 
THE  ART  OF  LEARNING.  That  instead  of  casting  into  his 
lazy  lap  treasures  which  he  would  not  have  known  how  to  use, 
she  has  taught  him  to  mine  them  for  himself ;  and  has  by  her  wise 
refusal  to  justify  his  intellectual  greediness,  excited  his  hunger, 
only  that  he  may  be  the  stronger  to  hunt  and  till  for  his  own  sub- 
sistence ;  and  thus,  the  deeper  he  drinks,  in  after  years,  at  foun- 
tains wisely  forbidden  to  him  while  he  was  a  Cambridge  student, 
and  sees  his  own  companions  growing  up  into  sound-headed  and 
sound-hearted,  practical  men,  liberal  and  expansive,  and  yet  with 
a  firm  standing  ground  for  thought  and  action,  he  learns  to  com- 
plain less  and  less  of  Cambridge  studies,  and  more  and  more  of 
that  conceit  and  haste  of  his  own,  which  kept  him  from  reaping 
the  full  advantage  of  her  training." 

The  quotation,  from  a  learned,  living  writer,  (though  un- 
happily a  theologically  unsound  one),  the  Prof,  of  Modern  His- 
tory in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  England,  is  well  worthy  a 
repeated  and  thoughtful  perusal.  It  expresses  the  common  judg- 
ment of  all  thoroughly  and  liberally  educated  men. 

I  would  wish  you  to  give  careful  attention  to  Hopkins'  Evi- 
dences. The  work  is  not  familiar  to  me;  though  the  subject  is. 
I  should  be  pleased  to  have  any  suggestions  it  awakens  in  your 
own  mind,  and  to  aid  you  in  analyzing  its  argument.  Let  me 
also  particularly  recommend  a  thorough  mastery  of  Plato.  The 
longer  I  live  the  more  I  admire  the  sense  and  genius  of  that 
noblest  of  the  Greeks,  and  noblest  of  the  pagan  world.  T  read 
lately  a  very  interesting  and  instructive  article  on  the  writings 
of  Plato  as  compared  with  the  Scriptures.  It  was  in  Littell's 
Living  Age,  about  three  months  ago.  I  read  it  to  your  mother 
and  Lizzie.  If  I  can  lay  my  hand  on  it,  I  will  mail  it  to  you. 
There  is  also  a  little  treatise  of  Dr.  Pond  of  Bangor,  on  Plato 
and  his  writings,  which   would  aid  you.     It  will   repay  you  to 


To  His  Son  95 

connect  such  reading  with  your  daily  studies.  You  should  also 
read  up  a  little  on  Greek  history,  enough  to  locate  Plato  and  his 
times,  and  among  his  contemporaries.  Plato  is  exercising  no 
slight  influence  on  modern  thinkers ;  as  Prof.  Kingsley's  works 
show.  If  duly  tempered  by  a  knowledge  of  inspired  truth,  his 
ideas  are  invaluable.  We  learn  what,  (and  how  little),  the  grand- 
est unassisted  reason  can  teach  about  those  sublime  topics  which 
must  interest  every  thinking  man  —  the  Godhead,  the  nature  of 
the  soul,  a  future  Hfe,  etc.,  etc. 

Do  not  content  yourself  with  reaching  a  vague  and  general 
apprehension  of  Plato's  ideas,  either.  You  want  the  discipline 
which  is  gained  by  an  actual  mastery  of  the  very  shade  of  thought 
represented  by  the  Greek  verb  and  participle,  (the  hypothetic 
uses  of  the  indicative,  subjunctive,  etc.,  with  a'v,  etc.,  on  which 
study  the  various  Grammars,  and  read  especially  Winer's  — 
pronounced,  Vener's  —  Grammar  of  the  New  Testament  dialect : 
some  of  the  Professors  will  lend  it  you,  and  a  few  pages  will 
explain  the  whole).  The  use  and  signif.  of  the  prepositions,  too, 
is  admirably  explained  by  Winer.  The  other  particles,  fx-^^  ovv, 
Sc,  'arra,  etc.,  and  their  compounds,  and  relations  to  each  other, 
are  indispensable  studies  to  one  who  would  read  Plato  with 
profit  and  delight. 

All  this,  no  doubt,  will  cost  time  and  study ;  but  be  assured 
it  will  amply  repay  you.  Most  Greek  students  are  like  California 
travellers  who  should  run  over  the  mining  lands,  content  if  they 
pick  up  here  and  there  a  stray  nugget  to  show  admiring  friends. 
The  true  scholar  blasts  the  quarries,  and  drills  out  solid  and  ex- 
haustless  wealth  from  treasures  hidden  to  the  careless  traveler. 

Enough.  It  is  11  P.  M.,  and  mother  has  retired  already.  *  * 
All  well  here.  Mary  May  and  her  husband  are  here  this  week. 
Judge  Matthews, —  Col.  Parrott's  brother-in-law, —  was  buried 
last  Sabbath.  They  remain  here  Tuesday,  and  then  return  to 
Columbus.  Col.  P.  has  bought  Col.  Harrison's  old  place  on  the 
hill  south  of  Dayton,  and  will  live  there.     With  much  love, 

Yr.  aff.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XL 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  14  Nov.  1866. 
My  dear  Alfred : 

I  had  stars  on  the  brain  last  night,  and  did  not  sleep  soundly. 
You  know  the  shooting  stars  were  looked  for  Xov.  13.  I  saw 
them  33  years  ago,  Nov.  13,  1833.  I  was  then,  as  you  are  in  the 
first  term  of  the  Senior  year;  at  Oxford,  but  was  at  home,  In 
Venice,  Butler  Co.,  that  particular  night.  I  remember  that  a 
neighbor  waked  me  at  midnight,  terribly  alarmed,  as  he  supposed, 
in  his  ignorance,  that  the  stars  were  really  falling.  From  mid- 
night, till  the  dawn  of  day  rendered  the  meteors  invisible,  there 
was  an  incessant  display  of  the  most  celestial  fire-works  that 
mortals  ever  gazed  upon.  You  may  suppose  that  I  was  anxious 
to  witness  the  last  repetition  of  the  grandest  exhibition  ever  to  be 
seen  in  my  day;  and  happily,  the  sky,  that  had  been  cloudy  all 
day,  cleared  up  after  dark,  and  the  regular  stars  shone  splendidly. 
Toward  midnight  I  retired  to  rest ;  for  not  a  single  meteor  had 
appeared.  It  was  understood  that  the  fire-bells  would  ring  if  the 
shooting  stars  occurred.  At  intervals  during  the  night  I  woke ; 
but  toward  morning,  (4  o'clock),  the  heavens  were  overcast,  and 
no  chance  remained  to  witness  the  phenomenon.  I  fell  asleep  and 
dreamed.  I  thought  I  was  awake  and  sitting  on  the  lounge  by 
our  bed-side.  I  saw  John,  as  I  supposed,  come  into  our  room, 
dressed,  and  with  an  overcoat  on  his  arm.  He  came  near  and 
threw  his  arm  around  me.  As  soon  as  he  spoke  I  found  that  it 
was  Alfred,  and  not  John.  I  kissed  you  several  times,  and  in- 
quired what  had  brought  you  home  before  graduating.  You 
made  some  vague  reply;  and  I  asked  if  you  were  well;  for  you 
looked  pale.  I  asked  if  you  had  been  sent  home ;  and  you  quietly 
replied  that  you  had  been  privately  expelled!  The  thought  darted 
across  my  mind,  how  shall  I  bear  this  calamity;  and  the  sneers 
of  my  neighbors,  who  will  say,  well,  the  minister's  sons  are  no 
better  than  other  people's  !     This  waked  me. 


To  His  Son  97 

Now,  as  I  know  of  no  other  reason  why  you  should  be  ex- 
pelled than  that  you  have  not  paid  your  college  bills,  I  enclose 
a  check  for  $145.00,  the  sum  you  said  would  be  needed  for  that 
purpose.  I  had  associated  the  falling  stars  with  my  Senior  year 
at  college  in  1833,  and  having  neglected  since  Monday  to  send 
this  money,  the  thought  of  your  dismissal  grew  out  of  it,  I  sup- 
pose. Then  I  had  some  conversation  last  week  relative  to  your 
being  at  Dartmouth,  with  a  gentleman  here,  who  told  me  that 
some  of  my  friends  thought  I  ought  not  to  send  my  sons  to  col- 
lege with  the  inadequate  salary  I  am  receiving.  I  replied  that 
other  people  laid  up  money  for  their  children ;  while  I  could  give 
them  nothing  but  an  education.  My  father  had  given  me  the 
best  education  in  his  power ;  —  struggling  to  do  this  with  less 
means  than  I  had ;  —  and  I  felt  that  he  had  done  me  the  highest 
kindness ;    which  I  was  resolved  to  return  to  my  children. 

I  need  not  say  that  I  was  stung  with  the  unkind  suggestion ; 
but  I  shall  be  amply  repaid  if  you  improve  your  opportunities. 


XLI 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  23  July,  1866. 

My  dear  Alfred: 

Your  two  letters  were  received  last  week,  and  the  last  con- 
tained very  agreeable  intelligence.  We  are  all  highly  gratified 
that  you  received  the  first  prize  for  declamation,  I  sent  you  a 
copy  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  containing  the  announcement 
of  the  fact.  How  the  Commercial  came  by  the  information  I 
do  not  know ;  but  I  thought  it  might  please  you  to  see  that  our 
Central  newspapers  do  not  neglect  the  rising  young  men  of  our 
section  of  the  country.  You  do  not  tell  us  what  the  prize  was : 
though  I  suppose  the  honor  is  the  principal  thing.  We  think  our 
family  doing  well,  when  the  eldest  son  carries  off  the  first  prize 
at  Dartmouth ;   and  the  second,  the  second  prize  at  Yale !  *  * 

Your  statement  with  reference  to  the  declamation  of  my  St. 
Louis  speech  at  Amherst  was  naturally  agreeable.  Yet  I  could 
wish,  if  it  were  to  be  again  repeated,  that  a  better  report  had  been 
published.  For  a  newspaper  report  it  was  unusually  accurate ; 
but  of  course  there  were  many  errors,  some  omissions,  and  other 
inaccuracies,  which  a  verbatim  report  would  not  have  contained. 
I  once  thought  of  writing  out  a  fair  report  myself ;  but  it  was  so 
ephemeral  in  character,  and  had  been  so  widely  reprinted  while 
the  Assembly  was  in  session,  that  I  abandoned  the  thought. 

We  suppose  you  are  to  be  at  your  grandfather's  during  hay- 
ing season.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Jabez  Fisher  to  your  Alother 
speaks  of  his  hearing  this  from  his  brother.  Mr.  J.  F.  writes 
that  his  son  George  has  invited  you  to  visit  Washington,  N.  H. 
You  will  find  the  region  around  there  the  Switzerland  of  Amer- 
ica. I  climbed  Mt.  Lovell,  in  sight  of  Mr.  Jabez  Fisher's  home, 
with  him,  on  his  75th  birthday,  I  believe.  It  rises  some  3,000  ft. 
From  the  summit  you  have  a  magnificent  prospect.  Three  miles 
north,  on  the  main  road  passing  Mr.  Fisher's  door,  you  come  to 


To  His  Son  99 

heights  overlooking  the  Connecticut  valley.  A  fine  lake  near  his 
house  affords  excellent  fishing,  though  I  never  tried  it.  You 
would  enjoy  a  few  days  there,  if  convenient  to  them  and  to  you. 

Just  beyond  Mr.  J.  F.'s  —  north  —  the  adjoining  town,  I  think, 
is  famous  for  minerals.  Some  of  the  finest  specimens,  and  the 
largest  variety,  are  found  there.  On  the  height  I  spoke  of,  three 
or  four  miles  north  of  Washington,  to  the  left  of  the  road,  and 
half  a  mile  from  it,  on  a  crowning  summit  rising  like  a  ruined 
tower,  I  found  beautiful  specimens  of  malachite.  The  rocks 
there,  too,  are  striated,  or  grooved;  the  effect,  it  is  supposed,  of 
glacial  action.  I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  given  much  at- 
tention yet  to  geology  and  mineralogy.  Near  the  village,  on  a 
high  hill,  I  remember  that  I  found  graphite,  or  plumbago.  A 
mine  had  once  been  opened  there. 

It  would  repay  you,  after  hay-harvest,  if  you  could  take  a 
horse  and  ride  to  Mt.  Wachusett,  30  miles  from  your  grand- 
father's. He  went  once  with  Mary  May,  John  and  me  to  Wa- 
chusett, and  climbed  it  too.  I  suppose  he  would  hardly  care  now 
to  repeat  the  experiment.  The  view  from  W.  is  one  of  the  finest 
in  N.  England.  It  will  be  a  charming  vision  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. Youth  is  the  season  to  gather  such  memories  as  we  shall 
love  to  cherish.  When  the  body  is  too  old  to  travel,  imagination, 
(memory  rather),  can  recall  every  delightful  scene  once  visited. 
It  was  Niebuhr,  the  great  traveller  and  historian,  I  believe,  who, 
becoming  blind  in  his  old  age,  used  to  say  that  he  could  sit  in 
imagination  among  the  oriental  scenes  which  he  had  visited,  under 
the  glorious  sky  of  the  East,  and  revel  on  the  visions  which  had 
transported  his  earlier  days.  How  wonderfully  and  benevolently 
has  our  Maker  provided  for  our  happiness !  "He  giveth  us  all 
things  richly  for  our  enjoyment,"  (1  Tim.  6-17).  And  how 
rational,  that  youth  be  so  spent  that  we  may  recall  its  enjoyments 
with  pleasure ! 

All  moves  on  here  in  the  old  jog-trot  way.  I  saw  John  Pat- 
terson yesterday :  he  had  received  a  late  letter  from  you  and 
talks  of  going  to  Dartmouth.  I  advised  him  to  return  to  Oxford. 
Now  that  the  Faculty  is  reorganized,  with  Dr.  Stanton  for  Presi- 
dent, Prof.  Butler  in  the  Greek  chair,  I  almost  wish  you  too  were 
back  at  Oxford.     The  expense  would  be  but  half  what  it  is ;   and 


100  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

we  could  see  you  so  often.  We  are  almost  sick  with  the  thought 
that  we  shall  not  see  you  for  another  year.  All  unite  in  love  to 
your  Grandfather,  Grandmother,  and  Uncle.  Remember  the  age 
and  infirmities  of  Mrs.  F.,  and  conform  quietly  to  all  their  do- 
mestic habits.  A  true  gentleman  will  adapt  himself  to  the  wishes 
and  tastes  of  others,  where  no  principle  is  involved. 
Farewell  —  God  bless  you,  my  dear  boy ! 

Yr.  afif.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XLII 
TO  HIS  SON 


C 


Dayton,  O.,  31  Oct.,  1866. 
My  dear  Alfred: 

*  *  I  am  pleased  with  the  topic  assigned  you  for  an  essay, 
or  oration.  John  Milton  is  one  of  the  noblest  characters  in  Eng- 
lish literature,  and  history;  a  good  specimen  of  the  genuine 
English  Puritan  with  a  leaning  rather  to  politics  than  ecclesiasti- 
cism.  By  the  way,  Johnson  the  lexicographer,  (how  the  name  is^ 
degraded  for  us  by  association  with  Andy!)  once  employed  a 
literary  drudge  to  compile  an  index  to  one  of  his  publications. 
The  man  had  completed  his  work  as  far  as  "Milton,  John"—  so 
he  wrote  it,  referring  to  the  page,  etc.  Johnson's  eye  fell  upon 
the  unfortunate  words,  when  he  summoned  the  index  maker, 
and  dismissed  him  from  his  employ ;  telling  him  that  there  was 
but  one  Milton,  and  the  fellow  who  should  attempt  to  designate 
him  as  "John"  was  unfit  for  his  service.  ■>--— ^ 

I  have  been  refreshing  myself  this  Summer  with  historic 
reading.  During  the  Prusso-Austrian  war  I  perused  Schiller's 
Thirty  Years  War;  to  compare  the  state  of  Europe  in  the  middle 
of  the  17th  century  with  its  condition  in  the  middle  of  the  19th 
century.  Then  I  took  up  Sharon  Turner's  Anglo  Saxons ;  and 
this  led  me  to  Milton's  History  of  the  Britons  and  Saxons.  You 
find  it  toward  the  end  of  his  prose  works  in  the  American  8  vo. 
edition.  John  bought  a  good  copy  for  75  cents.  I  suppose  you 
have  it.     If  not,  we  will  express  it  to  you,  if  not  too  late. 

Milton's  prose  is  peculiar;  the  sentences  very  long  and  intri- 
cate ;  the  use  of  the  Latin  participial  instead  of  the  verb  predom- 
inating ;  which  makes  his  sentences  comprehensive,  but  cumbrous. 
You  should  read  his  History  of  England,  as  it  embodies  the  old 
traditions :  of  little  use  except  as  connected  with  English  poetry. 
Shakespeare's  King  Lear,  and  many  of  Chaucer's  characters,  are 
drawn  from  these  traditions  ;    as  well  as  King  Arthur  and  his 


102  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

hundred  Knights.     He  gives  the  history  of  the  subjugation  of  old 
British  Christianity  by  the  Papal  emissaries  pretty  fully. 

The  period  of  English  history  including  the  rise,  prevalence, 
and  fall  of  Puritanism,  is  well  worthy  of  careful  study.  But  be 
careful  of  your  authorities.  Hume  admits  that  England  owes 
her  freedom  to  the  Puritans ;  yet  he  misrepresents  and  maligns 
them.     He  was  a  Tory  and  a  Jacobite. 

Milton,  like  Cromwell,  was  a  genuine  republican ;  as  were 
many  other  Puritans,  as  well  as  of  the  Scotch  Covenanters.  Led 
by  a  sense  of  religion,  by  the  force  of  conscience,  to  demand  and 
exercise  liberty  in  matters  of  religion ;  and  met  everywhere  by 
the  stern  opposition  of  Monarchs,  who  claimed  a  right  to  control 
the  Conscience  no  less  than  the  bodies  of  their  subjects,  such  men 
were  forced  to  investigate  the  foundations  of  the  royal  preroga- 
tive, and  found  no  basis  in  reason  or  Scripture  for  the  boasted 
"divine  right  of  Kings." 

Can  you  find  Rutherford's  "Lex  Rex"  in  any  of  your  libraries? 
It  was  burned  at  the  gallows  in  Edinburgh  by  the  common  hang- 
man, in  obedience  to  the  order  of  Charles  2d ;  who  dreaded  the 
republican  idea  that  Law  is  King.  But  Cromwell  found  an 
England  incapable  of  republicanism ;  and  his  position  compelled 
him  to  rule.  Milton  and  his  compeers  were  far  in  advance  of 
their  times.  A  bitter  passage  in  his  History  of  England,  where 
he  steps  aside  to  draw  a  parallel  between  the  early  Britons  at  the 
time  of  the  Saxon  invasion,  and  his  own  age,  (the  passage  was 
penned  in  his  later  life),  describes  the  selfishness  and  corruption 
which  produced  the  downfall  of  the  Cromwellian  Commonwealth. 

You  should  also  read  Milton's  Poems.  His  Samson  Ago- 
nistes  was  intended  to  show  the  English  Giant,  Republicanism, 
bound  in  the  prison-house  of  Royalty  after  the  accession  of 
Charles  2d ;    and  bound  for  its  oivn  fault. 

But  I  must  stop  my  rambling  letter.  Of  course  you  have 
read  Macaulay's  essay  on  Milton.  But  Macaulay  is  not  always 
to  be  trusted.  Though  a  eulogist  of  the  Puritans,  he  had  not 
religious  principle  and  spirit  enough  to  enable  him  to  appreciate 
them  arig-ht. 


XLIII 
FROM  HIS  UNCLE,  THOMAS  SPENCER 


Bransby,  Lincoln,   (England). 

21/3/1867. 

My  dear  Nephew: 

Thy  very  kind  and  interesting  letter  reached  me  in  due  course 
some  time  last  year.  I  thank  thee  most  sincerely  for  the  treat 
it  gave  me.  It  seemed  as  I  read  its  pages  as  if  I  was  shaking 
hands  with  every  member  of  thy  father's  family.  It  was  a  rare 
privilege,  for  which  I  hope  that  I  am  duly  thankful  to  the  Giver 
of  all  Good.  The  letter  was  of  such  family  interest  that  I  took 
the  liberty  of  sending  it  to  London  after  it  had  been  to  Facit  and 
Sturton.  Thy  cousins,  the  Stallybrass  family,  were  all  of  them 
in  town  just  then,  and  the  opportunity  was  not  to  be  lost.  Poor 
Sarah  and  poor  Adolph  Sonnenschein !  They  have  lately  lost 
their  second  son, —  a  gifted  boy  of  thirteen,  who  was  rarely  en- 
dowed by  nature,  and  his  parents  reveled  in  the  prospect  of  the 
intellectual  victories  that  he  would  one  day  win.  I  could  not 
measure  his  scholastic  attainments,  for  they  are  beyond  my  ken ; 
but  of  his  general  knowledge  I  could  form  some  estimate,  and 
assuredly  it  was  surprising  for  his  years, —  he  was  all  nervous 
energy  —  all  soul  —  the  jewel  was  large  and  the  casket  frail. 
His  parents  were  fully  aware  of  the  peculiarities  of  his  constitu- 
tion, and  they  sent  him  for  two  Summers  to  rusticate  at  Bransby, 
but  it  was  of  no  use, —  I  could  not  keep  him  from  books.  I  hope 
thou  will  one  day  make  the  acquaintance  of  thy  cousins,  the 
Stallybrass  family, —  they  are  talented  men,  and  all  engaged  in 
intellectual  pursuits. 

On  my  side  of  the  house,  a  hearty  welcome  awaits  thee.  I 
could  tell  thee,  as  I  have  told  several  of  my  American  friends 
who  have  called  to  see  me  at  Bransby — "Remember,  if  thou 
should  fall  sick  in  the  course  of  thy  travels,  there  is  a  home  and 
a  capital  nurse  in  Lincolnshire."     One  gentleman  told  me  it  was 


104  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

a  real  comfort  to  him  during  long  travel  on  the  continent,  to  know 
that  he  had  something  like  a  home  in  Europe. 

I  very  much  fear  that  I  cracked  up  my  English  home  far 
above  its  deserts.  My  partiality  for  my  humble  dwelling  and 
its  surroundings  very  likely  led  me  astray.  I  only  intended  to 
describe  a  quiet  and  quaint  abode,  standing  in  the  rustic  and  rural 
of  old  England, —  a  fitting  place  in  which  an  aged  couple  might 
spend  their  last  days  in  humble  hope  and  patient  preparation. 
I  know  full  well  how  quickly  the  refinements  of  civilization  fol- 
low the  foot-steps  of  the  backwoodsman  in  the  Far  West.  The 
ring  of  the  axe  has  scarcely  died  away  when  the  silken  sounds 
of  the  piano  set  in.  I  can  fully  believe  that  there  are  farm 
houses  in  the  neighborhood  of  Dayton  far  surpassing  my  own 
in  all  the  appliances  of  modern  civilization.  Had  I  been  at  thy 
elbow  when  thou  was  penning  thy  racy  vindication  of  Dayton 
life  and  manners,  I  should  have  taken  all  the  wind  out  of  thy  sail?, 
by  whispering  in  thy  ear, — "truly,  the  gleanings  of  the  Grapes  of 
Ephraim  are  better  than  the  vintage  of  Abiezer."(  ?)  I  have  one 
short  and  simple  way  of  putting  the  question  of  comparison  be- 
tween England  and  the  United  States.  I  always  say  to  my 
countrymen, — "Whatever  England  may  have  been  in  her  great- 
ness, she  has  only  shown  forth  in  miniature  what  the  States  are 
destined  to  show  forth  in  magnitude." 

Thy  description  of  the  magnificent  width  of  the  streets  of 
Dayton,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  town  is  laid  out  seems  to 
me  to  imply  a  large  Empire  in  prospect.  The  instincts  of  the 
Anglo-Normans  of  the  States  have  adopted  a  large  scale  for  all 
their  cities  as  best  suited  to  the  large  development  that  is  in  the 
future;  just  as  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  England  built  for  an  endur- 
ing Empire.  Our  old  churches,  castles  and  Cathedrals  were  built 
by  a  people  who  evidently  contemplated  posterity.  I  was  at 
Austerfield  some  time  ago,  a  village  in  Yorkshire,  the  birth-place 
and  English  home  of  Gov.  Bradford  of  Massachusetts,  and  there 
stood  the  little,  old  church,  barely  capable  of  holding  above  fifty 
to  a  hundred  people,  and  yet  its  walls  of  stone  were  three  feet 
thick.  There  it  had  stood  for  centuries,  I  know  not  how  many. 
The  veritable  curfew  bell  was  still  in  its  tiny  tower, —  the  very 
same  that  tolled  out  the  harsh  terms  of  the  Norman  conquest,  at 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  105 

least  so  said  the  old  sexton.  As  I  stood  and  looked  at  the  old 
church,  sturdy  and  staunch  in  its  grey  old  age,  I  queried  with 
myself  after  this  fashion.  "What  in  nature  is  to  shake  down  this 
old  structure  for  centuries  to  come, —  nothing  short  of  an  earth- 
quake,—  verily,  the  old  folks  that  built  you,  built  for  posterity 
and  an  enduring  Empire."  Thy  description  of  the  comfortable 
dwelling  of  the  working  classes  of  Dayton, —  most  all  freeholds 
of  their  own, —  interested  me  deeply.  The  want  of  freeholds  in 
England  is  a  sad  bar  to  its  material  prosperity,  and  a  sadder  bar 
to  the  morals  of  its  people.  For  want  of  this  powerful  incentive 
to  good  conduct, —  the  possession  of  a  freehold, —  the  laboring 
classes  in  England  are  low  in  their  aspirations  and  too  often 
spend  good  wages  recklessly,  instead  of  devoting  a  surplus  to  a 
good  and  grand  object.  Here,  the  lingering  effects  of  an  effete 
feudalism  meet  us  at  every  step, —  in  town  or  country  it  is  all 
the  same.  The  soil  of  the  country  is  in  the  hands  of  the  few. 
Many  of  our  large  towns  lie  in  the  hollow  of  one  man's  hand ; 
and  they  are  kept  so  by  our  custom  of  settlement  and  our  laws 
of  primogeniture  and  entail.  Around  the  neighboring  town  of 
Gainsboro  there  are  beautiful  sites,  admirably  suited  for  sub- 
urban dwellings  —  bluffs  and  hill-sides,  where,  if  we  cannot  look 
upon  mysterious  fortifications  we  may  overlook  Danish  Encamp- 
ments. The  world  is  everywhere  the  same,  strewn  all  over  with 
the  remains  of  people  that  have  long  since  passed  away.  Lin- 
coln Minster  crosses  a  'bluff'  that  overlooks  the  vale  of  Trent, 
and  recent  discovery  has  shown  us  that  this  'bluff'  was  once  the 
site  of  a  Roman  Encampment,  from  whence  a  conquering  people 
might  watch  a  subject  race  in  the  lands  below.  The  great  fea- 
tures of  nature  remain  with  all  their  varied  outlines,  and  they 
tell  us  of  the  motives  and  passions  of  a  long  forgotten  race. 

But  to  return  to  the  'bluffs'  of  Gainsboro,  they  are  now  in  the 
market  for  sale, —  the  owner,  always  of  the  same  family  from 
generation  to  generation,  keeps  them  to  let  for  cow  pastures. 
Huddersfield,  a  large  manufacturing  town  of  Yorkshire,  of  40,000 
inhabitants,  and  full  of  a  go-a-headism,  is  all,  but  one  small  free- 
hold, the  property. of  one  man.  Sir  John  Ramsden.  He  lets  his 
building  lots  on  lease  of  99  years,  for  a  handsome  ground  rent. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  99  years,  the  buildings,  many  of  stone, — 


106  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas  ^ 

massive  and  handsome  —  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  family. 
The  one  small  freehold  is  the  property  of  a  Friend.  The  family 
of  the  principal  proprietor  have  repeatedly  tried  to  buy  this  prop- 
erty. On  the  last  occasion,  the  present  Sir  John  offered  to  pave 
the  whole  plat  with  sovereigns  in  gold,  and  to  give  the  paving  as 
the  purchase  money.  To  this  proposal,  the  Friend  replied, — 
"Very  well,  I  will  agree  with  thee,  but  on  this  condition, —  thou 
must  plant  the  sovereigns  edgeways !"  This  was  rather  too  much 
of  a  good  thing  for  Sir  John,  and  he  backed  out.  "Very  well", 
rejoined  the  old  Quaker, — "then  Huddersfield  belongs  the  one 
part  to  Sir  John  Ramsden  and  the  other  part  to  Thomas  Firth." 
Large  estates  cover  the  surface  of  the  British  Isles  every- 
where. With  thirty  million  of  people,  we  have  only  from  3  to 
500,000  landholders, —  a  condition  of  things  that  I  deplore  most 
bitterly.  I  cannot  say  that  it  has  its  cast  in  the  Norman  conquest. 
It  is  rather  the  result  of  economic  laws.  Somehing  like*  it  grew 
up  in  the  Southern  States.  Certainly  it  is  our  peculiar  laws  of 
succession  that  hold  these  vast  estates  together.  English  instincts 
are  decidedly  aristocratic.  When  men  make  fortunes  by  com- 
merce or  in  the  profession,  they  buy  land  and  try  to  found  a 
family.  Even  in  humble  life,  fathers  will  cast  off  their  daugh- 
ters with  a  5£  note  that  they  may  leave  3  or  4  thousands  in  land 
to  an  eldest  son ;  not  that  the  law  obliges  them  to  do  so,  but 
simply  from  choice.  By  making  a  will  such  people  may  divide 
as  much  as  they  like.  Primogeniture  is  the  rule  in  cases  of 
intestacy, —  it  is  the  law,  and  as  such  it  dictates  the  morality  of 
the  people. 

I  must,  however,  say  this  of  the  English  Aristocracy, —  a  more 
generous  race  of  men  never  lived.  If  they  do  hold  the  land,  they 
let  it  at  a  very  moderate  rent,  rarely  exceeding  23/.  per  cent  per 
annum  on  its  selling  value.  Boswell,  in  his  life  of  Johnson,  says 
that  they  give  another  2 5^  in  homage,  but  I  don't  believe  him. 
No,  the  present  moment,  under  Free-trade,  the  landlord  and  the 
farmer  are  not  sharing  more  than  6  per  cent  per  annum,  on  their 
united  capital, —  the  value  of  the  land  and  the  value  of  the  stock 
upon  it  which  is  generally  about  10£  per  acre.  No  class  of  the 
English  people  would  oppose  the  breaking  up  of  our  large  estates 
so  stoutly  as  the  English  tenant   farmers.     For  myself,   I  long 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  107 

for  the  freedom  of  the  soil  in  England,  and  its  accessibility  to 
our  patient  and  laborious  peasants.  I  look  upon  many  a  manly 
face  of  this  class,  and  think  to  myself, — 'what  a  man  you  would 
become  —  what  a  master  you  might  be,  if  you  were  only  in  the 
States.'  There  is  nothing  of  an  earthly  character  that  seems  to 
affect  the  very  nature  of  a  man  so  powerfully  as  the  tenure  of 
the  soil  on  which  he  dwells.  When  a  man  feels  his  feet  upon  his 
own  free  soil,  he  feels  the  dignity  of  a  king,  and  all  the  inde- 
pendence of  manhood.  I  once  heard  the  late  Edward  Everett 
say, — "Tell  me  the  tenure  of  the  soil,  and  I'll  tell  the  condition 
of  the  people."  To  tell  the  truth,  I  think  more  of  the  freedom 
of  the  soil  in  America  and  its  great  abundance,  as  a  source  of  hap- 
piness and  posterity  to  the  people,  than  I  do  of  its  democratic 
institutions.  Pardon  me,  I  am  covering  a  deal  of  paper  with  a 
very  dry  subject,  and  perhaps  saying  some  things  to  which  thou 
will  not  very  easily  subscribe. 

During  the  last  Autumn,  I  gathered  in  my  30th  Harvest  m 
England,  and  it  was  the  worst  to  get  I  ever  knew.  The  crops 
were  fair,  but  the  weather  for  securing  them  the  worst  I  ever 
knew.  For  70  days  it  rained  at  some  time  within  the  24  hours 
of  each  day.  Fanny  Kemble's  Frenchman  might  have  gone  home 
to  France  and  said  that  there  was  no  ripe  fruit  in  England,  save 
roasted  apples,  and  not  have  been  very  far  from  the  truth.  Our 
pears,  some  times  very  fine,  had  neither  juice  nor  flavor, —  they 
were  good  for  nothing.  We  had  no  sunshine  to  ripen  them. 
How  the  wheat  and  the  oats  and  the  barley  found  their  way  to 
maturity  is  a  puzzle  to  me.  I  should  revel  in  a  jolly  good  roast 
in  the  States, —  thermometer  up  to  90  in  the  shade.  One  4th  of 
July,  whether  it  was  the  last  or  not  I  cannot  say,  but  it  was  the 
4th  of  July,  thy  Aunt  was  sitting  on  one  side  of  the  fire  at  her 
interminable  knitting,  and  I  at  the  other  with  a  book  in  my  hand. 
An  odd  thought  just  struck  me, — "Mary,"  said  I,  "look  around 
and  see  if  you  can  find  a  fly  in  the  room,"  and  we  both  of  us 
looked,  but  not  a  fly  could  we  find.  "Now,"  said  I,  "think  of 
Independence-day  at  Salem,  Mass.,  and  tell  me  if  the  beautiful 
creatures  were  really  such  a  nuisance  as  we  took  them  to  be." 
I  would  give  a  crown  to  see  the  table  v/ell  covered  with  them, 
and  another  crown  to  hear  the  music  of  their  buzz.     Harvest  is 


108  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

generally  a  good  time  with  us.  The  laborers  get  good  wages, 
and  they  work  with  a  will,  and  the  farmers  are  cheerful  at  the 
prospect  of  well-filled  stock-yards.  Much  of  the  simplicity  of 
Harvest  still  lingers  in  these  low-lands  of  Lincolnshire.  We  hear 
the  shout  of  the  Harvest  Home,  and  we  see  the  gleaners  in  the 
field.  When  the  last  load  of  grain  enters  our  stock-yard,  it  is 
covered  all  over  the  top  with  as  many  shouting  children  as  it  can 
carry,  and  thy  Aunt,  and  her  maid,  stand  at  the  gate  and  give  a 
little  plum-cake  to  all  comers.  The  shout  I  must  give  thee, 
though  I  am  almost  ashamed  to  do  so. 

"Master is  a  good  man,  he  gets 

His  Harvest  as  fast  as  he  can, 

Never  thrown  over  —  never  stuck  fast. 

The  Harvest  Home  has  come  at  last." 

Then  there  is  the  Harvest  supper  when  master  and  mistress 
and  all  who  have  shared  the  labors  of  the  Harvest  take  a  cheerful 
meal  together.  I  love  to  see  the  binding  of  the  sheaves, —  mod- 
ern art  has  not  yet  contrived  an  abridgement  of  this  operation. 
It  is  just  as  primitive  as  when  Joseph  and  his  brethren  gathered 
in  the  Harvest  of  their  father  Jacob.  When  the  gleaners  are  in 
the  field,  I  cannot  but  think  of  Ruth  and  Naomi  and  the  barley 
fields  of  Bethlehem,  and  the  sketch  we  get  of  the  rural  life  and 
manners  among  the  Llebrews  of  that  day.  Boaz  was  the  very 
type  of  the  Hebrew  gentleman, —  his  salutation  to  the  reapers 
when  he  entered  his  fields, — "The  Lord  be  with  thee", —  and  the 
kindly  response  of  the  reapers, — "The  Lord  bless  thee", —  are 
touching  characteristics  of  that  early  day.  I  wish  that  we  had 
something  like  this  pious  courtesy  in  our  own  times.  I  do  not 
know  that  we  can  find  in  all  the  compass  of  the  English  language, 
a  better  picture  of  a  golden  age,  than  we  find  in  the  second  chap- 
ter of  Ruth.  It  is  full  of  piety,  embellished  with  touching  inci- 
dents of  poetry  and  romance. 

I  continue  to  live  on  excellent  terms  with  my  friend  the  par- 
son,—  I  do  not  use  the  term  parson  derisively.  Thou  will  per- 
haps say,  "why  not  live  on  good  terms?" —  I  will  tell  thee.  When 
my  good  friend  wants  a  church  rate,  I  go  and  oppose  him,  and 
am  always  sure  to  beat  him  —  appeals  to  the  selfishness  of  man- 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  109 

kind  are  sure  to  succeed.  However,  I  endeavor  to  carry  on  our 
vestry  warfare  with  as  much  courtesy  as  I  can  command,  and 
the  parson  on  his  side  says, — "I  intend  to  live  you  down,  to  love 
you  down,  and  to  pray  you  down  —  and  if  I  cannot  beat  you 
Dissenters  on  that  line,  I'll  give  up."  And  to  tell  the  truth,  he 
sticks  to  his  principles.  He  mostly  takes  tea  with  us  when  he 
shepherds  his  little  flock  at  Bransby,  and  often  gives  us  two  hours 
when  his  service  is  over.  The  last  time  he  was  here,  we  had  a 
long  sitting,  and  my  good  friend  got  on  his  favorite  hobby  — 
philology  —  of  which  I  understand  just  about  as  much  as  he  is 
lucky  enough  to  make  plain  to  me,  and  some  times  not  so  much 
at  that.  He  is  a  great  stickler  for  an  improved  translation  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  less  I  am  disposed  to  encourage  that  enter- 
prise so  perilous  —  the  more  he  wants  to  show  the  necessity. 
When  I  grow  weary  in  listening  to  long  lectures  on  language,  on 
which  I  have  precious  little  to  say,  he  will  wake  me  up  by  a  flash 
of  remorse,  and  when  I  have  opened  my  eyes  and  buttoned  back 
my  ears,  he  will  return  again  to  the  old  subject, —  an  improved 
translation.  The  other  evening  he  woke  me  up  by  telling  me 
how  Bishops  are  made  in  England,  and  as  the  illustration  touches 
the  Cloth,  and  involves  a  choice  bit  of  Episcopal  scandal,  I  must 
tell  the  tale  as  it  was  told  to  me. 

Some  time  about  the  year  1826,  a  young  Marquis  of  Coyning- 
ham  fell  head  over  ears  in  love  with  a  Swiss  governess,  to  the 
sore  affliction  of  the  Marchioness,  his  mother ;  and  how  to  prevent 
the  catastrophe  almost  drove  the  Lady  to  her  wits  end.  At  last 
she  hit  upon  a  scheme, —  she  sent  for  a  young  clergyman  who 
had  been  private  tutor  to. her  sons,  and  made  him  acquainted 
with  the  awful  state  of  afifairs  and  her  own  way  of  getting  out 
of  what  appeared  to  her  Ladyship  a  very  bad  scrape.  With  a 
delicate  and  deliberate  coolness,  she  proposed  that  the  young 
clergyman  should  himself  marry  the  Swiss  girl  and  take  her  clear 
out  of  the  road  —  promising  at  the  same  time  to — make  it 
worth  his  while  to  do  so.  The  girl  was  young,  beautiful  and 
brilliant  in  accomplishments  —  polished  oflf  intellectually  to  the 
finest  point,  and  more  than  all,  she  was  as  good  as  she  was  grace- 
ful. She  was  worthy  of  a  Prince  for  that  matter,  and  would 
make  any  man,  gentle  or  simple,  a  capital  wife.     A  good  wife 


110  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

and  a  covert  promise,  pretty  well  understood  by  the  parties,  were 
large  temptations  for  a  poor  clergyman,  and  to  be  short  —  he 
married  the  Swiss  girl.  The  honeymoon  had  scarcely  set,  when 
the  See  of  Winchester  fell  vacant.  The  Marchioness,  true  to  her 
pledge,  whispered  in  the  ear  of  George  the  Fourth,  with  whom 
scandal  says  she  was  by  far  too  intimate,  and  the  Bishopric  of 
Winchester  became  the  Swiss  girl's  dowry.  From  that  day  to 
this,  said  my  informant,  the  revenues  of  the  See  have  never  been 
lower  than  15,000£  sterling  per  annum,  and  for  some  years  has 
risen  as  high  as  29,000,  with  a  proportionate  amount  of  patron- 
age, which  our  lucky  hero  —  the  born  child  of  Nepotism,  uses 
largely  for  the  benefit  of  his  kith  and  kin ;  and  if  a  gentle  re- 
proach ever  reaches  him,  he  quietly  replies,  by  quoting  a  certain 
text  in  the  Epistle,  which  thou  will  remember  better  than  I  can 
just  now,  that  says  something  about  a  man  being  worse  than  an 
infidel  that  provideth  not  for  his  own. 

Some  time  ago,  our  friend  the  parson,  was  fast  for  a  place 
of  meeting  in  the  neighboring  hamlet  of  Sturton,  and  applied  to 
my  son  James  for  the  use  of  our  Quaker  meeting-house ;  and 
James  coming  over  to  me  to  know  what  he  was  to  do ;  not  seeing 
my  way  clear,  I  took  down  the  Book  of  Quaker  Discipline,  and 
happily  found  that  lending  of  meeting-houses  was  left  to  the  wise 
discretion  of  those  in  charge.  "Oh !"  said  I  to  James,  "it  is 
discretional,  if  we  do  get  wrong,  let  us  be  wrong  on  the  liberal 
side  —  let  him  have  it."  A  few  days  afterwards  I  was  at  the 
Rectory  of  the  next  parish,  and  on  telling  the  Rector  that  our 
parson  had  held  a  service  in  our  Quaker  meeting-house,  he  held 
up  his  hands  in  perfect  astonishment  —  he  was  a  high  church- 
man. "Oh !"  said  I,  "don't  be  so  wonderfully  surprised  —  I  can 
tell  thee  something  far  more  strange.  The  real  wonderment  is 
that  the  Quakers  let  a  church  parson  have  their  meeting-house." 
Shortly  after  this  afifair,  one  of  our  best  preachers  happened 
along,  and  we  called  a  public  meeting,  and  among  the  invited 
turned  up  the  parson.  "I  am  come"  said  he,  "to  hear  what  sort 
of  doctrine  you  Quakers  teach  to  my  parishioners."  "Very 
good"  said  I, —  and  I  walked  him  into  the  gallery  and  set  him 
close  beside  the  Quaker  preacher.  After  the  meeting  was  over, 
the  two  good  men  —  the  Quaker  preacher  and  the  parson  —  had 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  111 

a  very  pleasant  conversation  —  a  long  evening  together  at  my 
son's,  and  parted  the  very  best  of  friends.  Who  shall  say  the 
Millennium  is  a  long  way  off! 

Well,  my  dear  Nephew,  I  think  I  have  inflicted  upon  you  a 
tolerable  amount  of  twaddle,  but  how  can  I  help  it  ?  Here  I  am, 
cooped  up  in  a  nook  of  the  world,  and  almost  as  much  of  a  vege- 
table as  the  cabbages  I  grow  for  my  sheep.  Thy  letter  to  me 
was  largely  of  the  stuff  of  which  history  is  made.  I  cannot 
return  it  in  kind.  Nothing  short  of  a  violently  contested  elec- 
tion ever  disturbs  my  equilibrium,  and  that,  I  am  thankful  to 
say,  does  not  occur  but  once  in  ten  years.  Something  of  the 
kind  is  just  now  looming  in  the  distance,  but  failing  health  and 
accumulating  years  must  excuse  me  from  hard  service.  We  are 
in  for  manhood  suffrage,  and  in  the  flood-tide  of  our  liberality, 
we  shall  eventually  rise  as  high  as  woman  suffrage.  Thank 
heaven  we  have  no  negroes,  or  our  professional  agitators,  with 
all  their  blundering  notions  of  abstract  right,  would  have  another 
string  to  play  upon. 

I  see  by  the  newspapers  that  the  battle  between  Free-trade 
and  protection  has  commenced  in  the  States.  It  is  a  pity  that 
you  Americans  should  follow  in  the  wake  of  old  Mother  England 
so  colonially  as  you  do.  As  crows  the  old  bird,  so  crows  the  young 
one.  You  profess  to  have  left  the  old  country  far  in  the  rear, 
when  you  are  simply  trotting  after  her,  without  at  all  measuring 
the  difference  in  circumstances  of  the  two  countries.  That 
which  may  be  potent  for  good  in  one  country,  may  be  potent  for 
evil  in  the  other.  One  is  a  new  country, —  and  the  other  is  an 
old  one.  My  experience  of  Free-trade  carried  out  in  this  country 
as  a  principle  and  adopted  in  all  cases  without  discrimination, 
has  not  left  a  favorable  impression  of  its  benefits  to  the  produc- 
ing classes;  nor  can  I  think  it  fair.  If  the  native  producer  has 
large  taxes  to  pay,  it  is  but  fair  that  the  foreign  producer  of  the 
same  article  should  pay  in  like  manner  as  near  as  human  wisdom 
can  approach  fairness.  This  would  be  honest  to  the  consumer 
and  producer  alike.  When  a  foreigner  takes  his  goods  or  his 
wares  into  any  country,  he  has  a  right  to  pay  for  the  privilege  he 
enjoys,  and  the  protection  of  the  laws  under  which  he  is  making 
his  profits.     The  United  States  are  perhaps  the  best  market  in 


112  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

the  world  for  the  productions  of  Europe;  but  only  think  for  a 
moment  what  it  has  cost  the  United  States  to  become  so.  Think 
of  the  amount  of  taxes  paid  in  the  States  —  think  of  the  innum- 
erable institutions  they  support,  all  of  which  go  to  build  up  a 
structure  of  society  that  makes  them  the  prime  market  of  the 
world.  My  argument  is  this,  if  foreigners  come  in  to  take  ad- 
vantage,—  to  sell  their  produce  or  their  wares  in  a  market  built 
up  at  such  a  cost  to  the  nation,  they  have  a  right  to  pay  towards 
its  support.  Take  my  own  case  and  it  is  the  case  of  English 
farmers  generally.  The  people  of  England  say  to  me, — "Thomas 
Spencer,  thou  shalt  pay  a  heavy  land  tax  for  the  privilege  of 
working  the  soil, —  thou  shalt  pay  handsomely  towards  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  needy, —  and  to 
support  the  Church  —  thou  shalt  pay  a  tenth  of  thy  whole  pro- 
duce, or  what  was  the  absolute  tenth  in  1836 ;  —  and  besides  all 
this,  thou  shalt  pay  Income  tax  and  all  other  taxes  direct  and 
indirect  in  common  with  other  people.  Now  we  know  that  all 
these  imposts  will  make  thy  produce  dear;  therefore,  we  shall 
open  the  ports  and  buy  of  foreigners  who  did  not  have  to  pay 
such  heavy  rates  and  can  afford  to  sell  cheaper !  —  And,  the  thing 
is  done.  In  destroying  what  was  thought  to  be  a  domestic  mo- 
nopoly, they  have  built  up  one  that  is  foreign.  But  no  injustice 
can  be  perpetuated  without  bringing  its  own  appropriate  punish- 
ment. Our  English  Agriculture  is  declining :  3  millions  of  agri- 
cultural people  have  left  the  shores  of  Ireland  and  carried  a 
bitterness  in  their  hearts  that  has  burst  out  in  the  form  of  Fenian- 
ism.  Our  own  agricultural  laborers  decline  at  the  rate  of  9,000 
a  year, —  at  least  they  did  between  '51  and  '61.  We  are  now 
depending  upon  foreigners  for  nearly  half  our  food;  a  very  per- 
ilous position.  In  spite  of  the  peans  that  we  sing  in  praise  of 
Free-trade,  it  is  leading  England  into  an  amount  of  financial 
difficulty  that  threatens  to  overthrow  her  long  standing  and  most 
cherished  institutions.  Her  ports  are  open.  She  is  the  sinkhole 
for  the  surplus  produce  of  all  nations,  and  in  it  comes  without 
let  or  hindrance.  During  1865,  this  country  bought  a  million 
pounds  sterling  a  week  more  than  she  sold.  The  balance  of  her 
foreign  trade  was  everywhere  against  her,  and  hence  the  money 
troubles  of  last  May.     During  the  past  year,  1866,  so  far  as  I 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  113 

can  come  at  the  statistics,  we  exported  at  the  rate  of  half  a  mil- 
Hon  pounds  sterHng  a  day, —  but  we  imported,  or  rather  foreign- 
ers poured  into  our  open  ports,  at  the  rate  of  three  quarters  of  a 
milHon  per  day, —  hence  the  gloom  and  apprehension  that  pre- 
vails in  our  commercial  and  manufacturing  communities  ;  it  is 
felt  that  a  large  balance  is  piling  up  against  us  that  will  one  day 
have  to  be  paid  in  gold. 

I  would  have  replied  before  this  time  to  thy  very  kind  and 
affectionate  letter,  but  during  last  Summer  I  suffered  much  from 
illness.  For  a  long  time  I  was  burned  up  with  a  slow  fever, 
which  at  last  culminated  in  a  violent  inflamation  of  the  eyes.  I 
had  to  sit  in  darkness,  which  was  only  relieved  by  thy  Aunt  read- 
ing to  me.  Finally  I  came  out  of  the  affliction  with  the  loss  of 
the  use  of  one  eye  —  it  is  dark,  and  the  other  that  remains  is  in 
a  very  precarious  state.  Ever  and  anon  thy  Aunt  wants  to  know 
whether  I  have  not  almost  done  writing  to  thee,  and  says  that 
short  letters  are  better  for  both  the  writer  and  the  reader,  and  I 
believe  that  she  is  about  right,  certainly  in  my  case.  Though  no 
scholar,  I  have  ever  been  a  reading  man,  and  for  an  unlettered 
person  I  have  accumulated  many  books.  Now-a-days,  when  I 
go  into  my  little  sanctum,  there  are  my  books,  but  I  do  not  take 
down  one  of  them  to  read  and  study  as  I  have  done.  The  Lord's 
vv'ill  be  done.  It  is  an  affliction.  May  I  have  patience  to  bear  it ! 
Thy  excellent  cousin,  Sarah  Sonnenschein,  bids  me  think  of 
Milton,  and  fall  back  on  my  own  resources.     Alas !    for  me  —  I 

have   none.     There   is   no    within  me.     When   I   try   to 

enter  the  chamber  of  my  own  memory  it  appears  a  sheer  lumber- 
room,  strewn  all  over  with  fragments  of  broken  furniture,  cov- 
ered with  dust  and  dangling  with  cobwebs.  I  regret  now  that  I 
did  not  pay  attention  to  music  when  I  was  young  —  it  would  be 
a  real  solace  now  that  my  reading  is  so  much  abridged.  xA.ll 
young  people  should  have  something  of  music  put  into  them. 
Now  excuse  me  if  I  give  thee  a  word  of  advice.  When  my  eyes 
showed  symptoms  of  inflamation,  I  went  up  to  London  to  con- 
sult a  first-class  oculist,  and  he  told  me  he  feared  I  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  using  my  eyes  when  the  body  was  fatigued  and  the 
whole  system  wanting  repose.  Never,  I  beseech  thee,  pretend 
to  read  when  the  book  keeps  dropping  on  the  knee, —  lay  it  down. 


114  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

—  fling  thyself  on  the  sofa, —  take  a  gentle  nap  —  and  then  up 
and  at  it  like  a  giant  refreshed.  I  thank  thee  for  sending  me 
"The  Theatre" ;  it  reached  me  safely,  and  is  now  in  London 
among  thy  learned  cousins,  who,  by  the  way,  are  not  the  cleverest 
persons  in  the  world  about  returning  such  things ;  but  I  think  I 
must  add  they  are  fully  as  good  as  I  am.  I  rejoice  sincerely  that 
thou  are  placed  by  Divine  providence  in  a  position  for  doing 
good.  Thou  art  just  where  thy  Father  would  have  placed  thee 
had  he  lived  and  been  permitted  to  have  the  thing  he  most  de- 
sired; and  I  think  I  may  say  as  much  of  thy  grandfather  Robin- 
son. That  thou  may  live  long  in  the  enjoyment  of  doing  good, — 
that  many  souls  may  be  added  as  seals  to  thy  ministry, —  that  the 
approbation  of  the  Divine  Master, —  the  Minister  of  Ministers 
may  be  always  palpably  before  thee  is  my  sincere  prayer. 

Please  to  give  my  love  to  every  member  of  thy  family,  down 
to  the  little  one  who  had  such  a  preference  for  angels'  wings,  to 
the  gallant  Col.  and  also  Mary  May  I  desire  to  be  particularly 
remembered ;  they  remembered  the  old  folks  at  Bransby  on  a 
notable  occasion,  and  we  don't  forget  it.  To  every  member  of 
thy  Father's  family  please  to  present  my  love,  as  occasion  may 
ofifer ;    and  in  all  this  thy  good  Aunt  unites  most  cordially. 

Believe  me,  thy  ever  Affectionate  LTncle, 

Thomas  Spencer. 


NOTE. —  In  transmitting  to  me  a  copy  of  portions  of  this  letter,  my 
father  wrote : 

"Such  are  uncle's  remarks  on  subject  of  Free  Trade.  They  are  the 
sound,  common-sense  \Te\vs  of  an  English,  practical  farmer.  Considering 
that  he  is  a  self-educated  man,  eighty  odd  years  of  age,  and  blind  of  one 
eye,  you  will  agree  with  me  that  he  sees  some  things  very  clearly. 

Uncle  Spencer  and  my  Father  were  intimately  acquainted  in  England ; 
not  far  apart  in  age ;  and,  in  earlier  life,  thorough  Republicans,  radicals, 
as  they  call  them  in  England.  In  1815-16,  and  before,  their  Hves  were 
scarcely  safe,  in  the  high  political  contests  of  the  country.  Do  you  re- 
member that  Southey,  Coleridge  &  Co.  were  fiery  radicals  in  their  young 
days?  They  died  ultra-conservatives!  "And  sich  is  life,"  as  A.  Ward 
•would  say.  The  young  dash  of?  in  new  experiments ;  grow  cool  by  ex- 
perience; —  and  become  fearful  of  novelties  in  old  age."     (A.  A.  T.) 


XLIV 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dayton,  O.,  4-23-1867. 
My  dear  Alfred: 

Yesterday  I  wrote  you  rather  a  discouraging  letter  about  our 
church  affairs.  Last  night  we  had  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees 
and  Building  Committee,  to  decide  the  fate  of  our  proposed  edi- 
fice. The  new  Trustees  are  Jno.  Stoddard,  Henry  L.  Brown, 
Leonard  Moore,  Henry  Stoddard,  George  Phillips;  Thos.  O. 
Lowe,  Treasurer;  David  Stewart,  Clerk.  Of  the  B.  Com.,  be- 
side the  above  were  present,  T.  A.  Phillips,  Jno.  G.  Lowe,  Col. 
E.  A.  Parrott,  Isaac  Haas,  and  myself.  We  met  and  talked  from 
7  :30  to  10  P.  M.  Young  America  was  pitted  against  the  old 
Guard :  Col.  Parrott  and  Jno.  Stoddard  insisting  on  commencing 
a  new  building  at  once,  by  taking  immediate  steps  for  the  removal 
of  the  old  structure,  and  deciding  on  a  plan :  T.  A.  Phillips,  Col. 
Lowe  and  H.  L.  Brown  very  warmly  urging  that  the  $50,000 
already  secured  would  not  justify  us  in  beginning  a  work  that 
would  cost  at  least  $70,000.  The  discussion  grew  quite  warm, 
but  I  urged  we  all  agreed  on  the  main  points,  and  could  harmon- 
ize on  details  by  a  little  mutual  forbearance.  L.  Moore  quietly 
supported  the  old  side ;  Haas  in  like  tone,  the  young  one.  T.  O. 
Lowe  behaved  handsomely,  insisting,  as  Treasurer,  having  an 
exact  knowledge  of  the  sittings,  that  there  was  a  manifest  and 
growing  demand  for  pews  which  could  not  be  met  without  a 
new  house.  H.  Stoddard  said  but  little,  yet  as  he  has  subscribed 
$8,000, —  $1,500  more  than  any  one  else, —  his  few  words  in 
favor  of  immediate  action  carried  weight.  David  Stewart,  of 
course,  sided  with  the  younger  men.  Finally  a  resolution  to 
begin  and  build,  carried  by  every  vote  but  one :  a  second  resolu- 
tion to  appoint  a  sub-committee  to  secure  estimates,  and  clear 
the  ground  for  a  new  structure  at  once,  carried  almost  unani- 
mously :  and  Jno.  Stoddard,  Haas,  Stewart,  and  myself  as  chair- 
man, were  named  as  the  sub-committee. 


116  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

Thus  we  are  fully  committed  to  the  work :  the  Rubicon  is 
passed;  and  we  have  18  months  hard  work  before  us.  We  shall 
begin  at  once  to  take  down  our  old  house. 

Hereafter  I  hope  to  write  more  frequently;  being  in  better 
spirits.  I  began  in  earnest  to  secure  a  new  church  last  Septem- 
ber, preaching  three  sermons  on  the  subject  at  proper  intervals. 
The  flood  checked  us,  as  it  checked  all  business  for  a  month. 
On  Jany.  4,  I  began  a  subscription  for  enlargement ;  in  Feby.  a 
new  subscription  for  a  new  house.  For  the  last  three  weeks,  as 
I  approached  $50,000,  I  was  daily  reminded  of  Pope's  line  on  the 
labors  of  Sisyphus, 

"With  many  a  weary  step,  and  many  a  groan, 
Up  a  high  hill  he  heaved  a  huge  round  stone." 

and  feared  I  might  realize  the  rest  o.f  the  couplet; 

"The  huge  round  stone,  recoiling,  with  a  bound. 
Thundered  impetuous  down,  and  smoked  along  the  ground." 

I  quote  from  memory,  and  may  mistake  a  word  or  two ;  but  you 
see  the  sentiment.  Now  I  feel  that  the  summit  has  been  reached 
and  passed ;  and  what  remains,  tho'  toilsome,  will  be  down-hill 
work.     Laus  Deo ! 


XLV 
TO  HIS  BROTHER,  JOHN 


Dayton,  O.,  24  June,  1867. 
My  dear  Brother  John : 

*  *  *  Last  September,  after  repeated  failures  in  former  years, 
I  resolved  to  make  a  last  attempt  to  secure  a  new  church  build- 
ing here.  We  have  been  losing  ground  for  ten  years  in  our 
church,  for  want  of  pews  to  rent,  and  other  facilities  for  our 
church  work.  I  have  had  repeated  calls  to  exchange  Dayton  for 
other  fields  of  labor.  The  chair  at  Chicago  Seminary  was  at  my 
disposal,  after  Dr.  MacMaster's  death,  if  I  had  chosen  to  accept 
it;  and  I  had  a  pressing  invitation  from  the  First  Church  of 
Cincinnati.  But  I  preferred  to  remain  here  if  I  could  have 
room  for  growth.  Well,  I  preached  twice  or  three  times  on  the 
duty  and  necessity  of  rebuilding;  when  the  flood  of  last  Fall, 
so  memorable  in  this  valley,  washed  away  all  my  preparations. 
After  a  little  rest,  I  pressed  the  duty  again.  By  the  beginning 
of  the  year  I  resolved  to  try  once  more ;  and  succeed  or  leave. 
In  the  Session  the  task  was  considered  hopeless.  Mr.  Brown 
and  others,  (Elders,  Trustees  and  Deacons),  said  they  would 
believe  it  possible  to  raise  the  necessary  funds  when  they  saw 
the  walls  going  up,  and  not  till  then !  Only  one  of  them  all  vol- 
unteered to  help  me,  and  he  went  but  once  or  twice, —  Dr.  Mac- 
Dermont,  Surgeon  General  of  Ohio  —  one  of  our  Elders.  H. 
Stoddard,  Jr.,  however,  encouraged  and  helped  me,  also. 

I  began  to  circulate  a  subscription  Jan.  1,  1867,  for  $40,000 
to  enlarge  the  old  building.  It  was  thought  by  some  that  an 
enlargement  might  be  practicable,  while  a  new  building  was  out 
of  the  question.  In  six  weeks  I  had  so  nearly  completed  the 
subscription  of  $40,000,  that  success  was  certain.  Then,  as  I 
had  anticipated  and  predicted,  the  subscribers  began  to  think  that 
it  was  a  pity  to  enlarge  an  old  house  at  more  than  double  its 
original  cost.  So  I  threw  away  my  subscription  paper,  and  drew 
up  another  for  a  new  edifice.     I  had  raised  about  $50,000  of  the 


First  Presbyterian  Church,  Dayton,  Ohio 


To  His  Brother,  John  119 

$70,000  supposed  to  be  needed,  when  I  called  a  church  meeting, 
or  two,  and  pressed  an  immediate  decision.  Some  of  our  leading 
subscribers  attended,  and  opposed  decisive  action.  Most  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  congregation  absented  themselves,  and  took  no 
part.  Still,  at  my  urgent  advice,  a  building  committee  was  ap- 
pointed, and  the  decision  turned  over  to  them.  The  committee 
was  twelve  in  number, —  just  twice  too  many;  —  and  I  was  pur- 
posely left  ofif,  that  I  might  not  seem  to  be  too  influential  in  the 
matter!  Well,  the  committee  met,  and  privately  invited  me  to 
attend  as  an  ex-ofUcio  looker-on!  As  I  had  secured  every  dollar 
of  the  $50,000  subscribed,  by  my  repeated  and  pressing  personal 
application,  I  might  justly  have  taken  offense  at  this  unkindness, 
though  it  was  not  intended  as  unkindness  : — but  to  meet  the  objec- 
tion of  some  friend  and  his  wife,  who  had  said  that  it  was  not 
necessary  to  appoint  a  building  committee,  for  I  would  have 
everything  done  as  I  wished  at  any  rate!  (Ha!  ha!  ha!).  The 
committee  met,  and  found  that  my  advice  and  co-operation  were 
indispensable ;  for  I  knew  all  that  was  known  about  the  funds 
procured  and  to  be  procured ;  and  I  only  would  devote  the  time 
and  labor  needful  to  complete  the  undertaking.  So  I  was  unani- 
mously added  to  the  committee  by  its  own  action,  at  its  first 
meeting;  and  at  the  second  meeting  was  made  chairman,  i.  e., 
factotum. 

I  next  urged  the  immediate  removal  of  our  old  house,  and 
presented  a  plan  for  a  new  one,  ground  plan,  and  elevation.  The 
plan  was  one  of  my  own  construction,  after  a  careful  study  of 
church  architecture,  and  the  capacities  of  our  ground,  a  corner 
lot,  100x200  feet.  The  demolition  of  the  house  was  earnestly 
resisted  by  T.  A.  Phillips,  Col.  Jno.  G.  Lowe  and  H.  L.  Brown, 
who  wished  to  worship  there  till  the  full  sum  needed  to  rebuild 
was  subscribed.  But  this,  I  knew,  could  never  be  done  till  a  new 
building  became  an  imperative  necessity ;  and  so  long  as  the  old 
house  stood,  so  long  would  some  withhold  their  subscriptions,  on 
the  plea  that  the  old  one  satisfied  them.  Well,  young  America 
carried  the  point,  at  my  urgency,  against  the  wheel-horses,  who 
held  back  so  stoutly.  H.  Stoddard,  Jr.,  Col.  Parrott,  D.  Stewart, 
(brother  of  Dr.  Stewart),  T.  O.  Lowe,  L  Haas,  John  Stoddard, 
etc.,  against  the  former  named;    and  John  L.,  D.  Stewart,  and  I 


120  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

were  appointed  the  demolishing  committee.  We  went  to  work 
with  a  will.  The  old  ladies  wept,  next  Sabbath,  when  they  saw 
the  sacred  steeple  taken  down,  and  by  the  second  Sabbath  the 
house  was  untenantable.  We  bade  it  goodbye  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath of  May,  with  a  communion  service  and  a  baptismal  service. 

The  plan  I  proposed  met,  from  the  first,  the  unanimous  and 
cordial  approval  of  the  committee,  with  one  exception.  It  is  on 
the  early  English  Gothic  style ;  of  stone ;  in  the  form  of  an  L 
(L),  14-i  ft.  by  100  ft.,  including  the  space  below  to  represent 
our  lot. 

This  ground-floor  stands  three  feet  above  the  ground  outside, 
with  a  cellar  of  eight  feet  depth  under  the  entire  building.  The 
walls  will  be  27  ft.  high,  outside ;  and  the  comb  of  the  main  roof 
71  ft. —  so  that  the  roof  is  steep.  The  south  gable  will  have  a  large 
triplet  Gothic  window,  and  a  lancet-window  on  each  side  of  it. 
The  porch  entrance  will  rise  to  the  height  of  the  wall  with  its 
peaked  front,  say  24  ft.  The  inner  finish  of  the  roof,  (which  is  of 
slate),  will  be  open  timbered,  arches  of  Norway  pine  springing 
from  the  inner  walls  toward  the  apex.  There  will  be  no  ceiling, 
proper;  only  an  inner  casing  of  wood,  corresponding  (parallel) 
to  the  slate  roof. 

Over  the  ground  floor  of  the  rear  building  is  a  second  story, 
in  three  rooms ;  of  which  the  east  room  over  the  lecture  room, 
but  larger,  is  a  social  hall  for  social  meetings  of  the  congregation 
as  distinguished  from  its  strictly  worshipping  assemblies.  The 
rear  of  the  second  story  (west)  is  in  two  rooms,  for  the  young 
men,  and  the  young  women. 

The  house  will  seat  800  persons  easily,  and  1,000  if  needful. 
We  have  no  gallery.  The  whole  will  cost  about  $75,000  to 
$80,000. 

I  presented  this  plan,  with  its  elevation  rudely  sketched,  at 
my  direction,  by  Col.  Anderson  (son  of  Gov.  Anderson),  and  he 
heartily  approved  it;  assuring  me  that  it  would  be  second  to 
none  in  the  West.  Blackburn  of  Cleveland,  an  Elder  of  Fred.  T. 
Brown's  former  church,  is  the  architect.  He  has  drawn  out  the 
designs  in  full ;  and  I  go  tonight  to  give  them  a  final  revision  and 
approval,  at  Cleveland. 


To  His  Brother,  John  1^1 

The  old  house  has  disappeared,  and  we  begin  excavation  and 
building  on  my  return  from  Cleveland. 

I  have  written  a  long  letter.  Some  things  I  have  said  in 
confidence,  not  to  be  made  public.  A  few  gentlemen  have  warmly- 
seconded  my  labors, —  tho'  some  of  them  disapproved  some  steps. 
Henry  Stoddard,  Jr.,  who  subscribed  $8,000,  should  be  named 
first.  T.  A.  Phillips  $6,500;  A.  P.  Stoddard  $5,000;  Col.  J.  G. 
Lowe  $4,000;  Jno.  Stoddard  and  I.  Haas  $3,000  each;  H.  L. 
Brown  $2,000,  etc.,  etc. 

On  the  whole,  I  have  reason  to  thank  God  and  take  courage. 
The  house  will  not  be  completed  till  next  Fall ;  but  I  may  hope 
to  occupy  it  for  some  time  and  leave  a  valuable  work  for  coming 
generations.  I  forgot  to  say  that  the  tower  rises  100  ft.,  of 
stone,  25  ft.  square,  and  ends  in  a  75  ft.  spire  of  slate-covered 
timber. 

Your  afifc.  Brother, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XLVI 
FROM  HIS  UNCLE,  THOMAS  SPENCER 


Bransby,  Saxilby  Station,  G.  N.  Railway. 
Lincoln  — 9/3  mo./'70. 

My  very  dear  Nephew  : 

I  have  long  been  thy  debtor  for  thy  welcome  and  valued  letter 
by  Mr.  Eugene  Parrott.  I  took  the  liberty  of  sending  it  the 
family  round  —  to  our  Emma  —  to  thy  cousin  Sarah  Sonnen- 
schein  —  and  to  thy  Uncle  Stallybrass,  who  sent  it  to  his  sons. 
I  thou't  that  I  should  have  sent  thee  some  sort  of  acknowledge- 
ment long  before  this  time,  but  I  have  been  pluming  myself  upon 
having  prevailed  upon  thy  cousin  Sarah  and  thy  Uncle  Stally- 
brass to  open  a  correspondence  with  thee,  and  in  the  fullness  of 
my  satisfaction,  have  fallen  back  upon  my  accustomed  laziness. 

I  thank  thee  for  introducing  me  to  a  gentleman  so  much  after 
my  own  heart  as  Mr.  Eugene  Parrott  —  he  was  everything  that 
thy  letter  indicated,  and  something  more,  and  all  on  the  sunny 
side.  I  only  regret  that  he  should  take  the  trouble  to  cross  the 
Island  from  Liverpool  to  Lincoln  and  get  so  little  for  his  pains. 
Thy  Aunt  and  I  were  prepared  to  receive  the  whole  party  and 
give  them  an  English  welcome,  and  so  were  the  Smithsons  and 
the  Sonnenscheins.  I  flattered  myself  that  we  could  amongst  us 
have  contributed  in  some  small  degree  to  their  entertainment. 

And  now  my  dear  nephew  to  the  real  business  that  has 
spurred  me  to  sit  down  with  a  fair  sheet  before  me.  I  observed 
in  thy  letter  to  Sarah  S.  that  thou  claimed  affinity  with  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers.  Good !  I  am  about  as  much  connected  with  the 
Brewsters  of  Nottinghamshire  as  thou  art  with  the  Bradfords  of 
Yorkshire.  And  here  permit  me  to  correct,  with  much  diffidence, 
thy  history,  or  at  least  a  slip  of  thy  pen.  Dorothy  May  was  the 
first  wife  of  Gov.  Bradford  —  not  of  elder  Brewster  as  stated  in 
thy  letter.  Bransby  is  about  20  miles  or  a  little  more  from  the 
English  homes  of  Brewster  and  Bradford.     I  once  told  thee  of 


From  His  Uncle,  Thomas  Spencer  123 

a  little  old  church  remarkable  for  its  age  —  some  eight  or  nine 
hundred  years  —  and  its  capacity, —  apparent  capacity, —  to  stand 
another  term  of  the  same  length.  That  church  was  the  parish 
church  of  Austerfield,  the  birthplace  of  Gov.  Bradford,  and  there, 
to  this  day  stands  the  altar  and  the  same  communion  rails  before 
which  his  Grandfather  and  Grandmother  were  married  —  the 
record  of  his  birth  is  found  in  the  parish  books.  The  Governor 
was  married  to  Dorothy  May  in  Holland,  but  of  this  I  need  not 
to  tell  thee. 

Scrooby  in  Nottinghamshire,  distant  about  three  miles  from 
Austerfield,  was  the  dwelling  place  of  the  elder  Brewster.  To 
this  spot  I  have  made  three  pilgrimages.  The  first  nearly  20 
years  ago,  and  then  I  made  what  I  thought  an  interesting  discov- 
ery. All  the  pilgrims  both  English  and  American  declare  that 
not  a  vestige  of  Scrooby  Manor,  the  abode  of  Brewster,  is  now 
in  existence,  but  I  found  out  that  a  portion  of  the  manor  house  is 
incorporated  and  hidden  in  a  modern  farm  house;  and  this 
portion,  a  spot  of  great  interest.  In  the  farm  house  it  has  been 
known  as  the  manor  chamber ;  but  I  take  it  to  have  been  a  Chapel 
in  Roman  Catholic  times ; —  such  Chapels  abounded  in  the  old 
religious  houses.  The  Piscina  is  there  and  immediately  before 
it  a  larger  recess  in  the  opposite  wall  where  I  imagine  a  cross  or 
an  im,age  of  the  Virgin  might  have  stood.  Immediately  before 
this  Chapel,  which  is  an  upper  room,  there  is  still  standing  and 
alive  an  old  mulberry  tree,  said  to  have  been  planted  by  Cardinal 
Woolsey.  I  have  seen  the  old  oaks  in  Sherwood  forest,  and  I 
have  paid  some  attention  to  the  deviation  of  hedges,  and  I  believe 
the  tradition.  From  this  tree  I  yesterday  took  a  number  of  slips 
and  wrapped  up  one  for  thee  in  a  newspaper.  I  hope  thee  may 
get  it  safe  and  make  it  grow.  I  believe  that  Brewster  and  Brad- 
ford eat  of  the  fruit  of  that  tree  and  sat  beneath  its  shade.  Pas- 
sionate and  impulsive  myself,  I  am  apt  to  think  all  the  world  just 
so;  but  if  the  mean  little  slip  should  have' in  it  no  interest  for 
thee  —  please  to  put  it  on  the  fire  and  say  no  more  about  it.  If 
thou  should  ever  come  to  England  I  must  take  thee  to  Scrooby 
and  Austerfield  and  show  thee  my  special  discovery.  Peradventure 
it  is  the  cradle  where  the  Infant  Giant  of  the  West  drew  its  first 
faint  struggling  breath.     The  chamber  or  Chapel  which  I  claim 


124  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

as  my  discovery  may  have  been  the  place  where  the  first  church 
of  the  pilgrim  fathers  was  formed. 

But  in  writing  to  thee  about  some  future  visit  from  thee,  I 
am  forgetting  how  old  I  am.  I  have  been  very  unwell  and  very 
feeble  for  nearly  the  year  past  —  blind  of  one  eye  and  seeing  but 
dimly  with  the  other.  I  have  written  hastily,  and  thou  must  in 
charity  excuse  me.  God  has  been  an  ever  present  help  to  me 
thro'  a  long  life,  and  I  trust  in  his  mercy  and  goodness  for  all  that 
is  to  come.  Thy  Aunt  is  really  hearty  —  she  has  gone  a  long 
journey  to  one  of  our  monthly  meetings,  apparently  unconscious 
how  old  she  is. 

Thy  ever  affectionate  Uncle, 

Thomas  Spencer. 

We  have  had  as  visitors  in  Bransby  the  Misses  Alison,  two 
charming  young  ladies.  They  knew  Dayton  and  the  Parrott 
family. 


XLVII 
TO  HIS  SON 


Pigeon  Cove,  Mass.,  12  July,  1871. 
My  dear  Alfred: 

I  wrote  Lizzie  on  our  arrival  at  Northboro,  that  you  might 
be  relieved  of  anxiety  on  our  account.  I  now  write  that  my  own 
anxiety  may  be  relieved,  for  I  am  uneasy  at  the  newspaper  re- 
ports of  a  tornado  in  Dayton  last  Sunday.  They  intimate  the 
destruction  of  a  German  Lutheran  Church,  accompanied  by  many 
deaths  ;  and  damage  to  the  spires  of  several  other  churches.  The 
Boston  Journal  speaks  of  the  "School  of  the  United  Brethren  and 
St.  Mary's  Church"  being  destroyed.  This  I  take  to  be  the 
"Brothers"  Catholic  school  south  of  the  cemetery.  It  is  said 
"the  bridge  over  the  Miami  was  blown  down".  Which  of  the 
four  bridges  can  this  be?  What  was  the  direction  of  the  storm? 
Mr.  Parker  and  I  tried,  last  night,  to  trace  it,  by  the  uncertain 
allusion  to  the  damage  done,  but  found  it  difficult.  *  * 

I  found  Mr.  Parker  and  his  son,  Grafton,  at  my  old  home  — 
the  Pigeon  Cove  House.  Mr.  P.'s  name  heads  the  list  for  the 
season  on  the  books  of  the  House.  Dr.  Fullerton  of  Chillicothe, 
O.,  with  his  wife  and  two  daughters,  (the  Dr.  a  cousin  of  Tom 
Fullerton's  father),  came  to  the  Cove  House  on  the  same  train 
with  me.  The  daughters  met  me  here  three  years  ago,  and  the 
father  recognized  me.  So  I  have  some  agreeable  acquaintances, 
which  aids  to  fill  up  the  hours  one  cannot  spend  in  walking,  bath- 
ing, reading  or  writing.  The  Cove  House  has  been  wholly  re- 
built, and  aflfords  every  accommodation  one  can  desire.  My 
room  looks  out  on  the  broad  sea;  with  Rockport,  with  its  low 
point  of  land  stretching  like  a  giant  finger  toward  the  ocean. 
Three  light  houses  are  in  sight,  where,  when  a  dense  fog  renders 
the  lights  invisible,  as  was  the  case  last  night,  a  deep-sounding 
fog-trumpet,  blown  by  hot  air,  serves  to  warn  and  guide  vessels 
at  sea.     I  sat  some  hours  yesterday  afternoon,  on  the  rocky  coast 


126  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

overlooking  the  sea,  watching  the  tide  as  it  slowly  covered  the 
stony  beach.     Byron  saw  in  it  the  image  of  death :  — 

"A  dark,  unsullied  wave,  that  oversweeps  the  world." 
To  me  it  is  the  symbol  of  life,  in  its  everlasting  roll  and  play ; 
and  in  the  ceaseless,  restless  activity  of  its  evershifting  billows. 
After  dreaming  over  the  boundless  prospect  till  my  limbs  required 
a  change,  I  imitated  the  example  of  Homer's  old  priest,  Chry- 
seis: — (I  quote  from  'memory,  and  may  not  be  exact), 

fir]  8  dxecuv  wapa  ^Lva  iroXvtpXoLa /3olo  6aXacr<Tr]<i- 
If  your  Greek  is  in  the  vocative,  ask  John  if  he  can  translate  the 
line.  "The  many-sounding  sea"  is  intelligible  enough ;  but  I 
never  could  appreciate  Homer's  other  epithet  of  the  sea,  when 
he  speaks  of  the  "innumerable  laughter"  of  its  waves.  It  takes 
a  lively  imagination,  I  think,  to  discover  in  the  play  of  the  billows 
the  zvrinkles  of  an  innumerous  laughter  on  the  broad  face  of  old 
Ocean.  Reaching  the  extreme  point  of  Pigeon  Cove,  which  is 
itself  the  extreme  point  of  Cape  Ann,  I  plunged  in  for  my  first 
bath  at  5  P.  M.  Returning  homeward,  I  met  Mr.  P.  and  son 
with  fifty  fine  perch  they  had  caught  since  dinner.  Capital  fish 
to  eat,  as  I  found  at  dinner  to-day. 

Last  night,  about  12,  I  was  waked  by  the  unusual  sound  of 
the  fog-trumpets ;  voice  answering  to  voice,  at  equal  intervals, 
as  if  some  huge  sea  monsters  were  holding  discourse.  Unable 
to  sleep  again  at  once,  I  set  to  work  on  the  two  sermons  I  must 
preach  next  Sunday  at  Northboro,  and  my  inaugural  at  Lane 
Seminary ;  and  succeeded  in  shaping  them  all.  Qi  my  inaugural, 
I  composed  the  exordium,  carefully  composing  and  retouching 
every  sentence ;  and  sketching  the  outline  of  the  whole  discourse, 
with  clusters  of  facts,  allusions,  and  particular  expressions  ;  which 
I  shall  put  on  paper  to-day.  I  am  to  preach  in  Worcester  on  the 
23rd,  and  at  Rockport  on  the  30th.  So  I  shall  not  be  idle  you 
see.     Have  read  and  re-read  half  De  Senectute  since  I  left  home. 


XLVIII 
TO  HIS  YOUNGEST  DAUGHTER 


Northboro,  Mass.,  18  July,  1871. 

My  dear  Leila: 

We  received  your  brief  but  sensible  letter,  and  John's  enclos- 
ure of  Uncle  S.'s,  yesterday  evening.  Let  me  say,  first,  that  your 
penmanship  is  neat  and  creditable,  but  that  you  sometimes  forget 
the  proper  formation  of  a  letter.  Thus  sick,  is  twice  v^ritten 
rich;  the  s  and  k  being  only  half  made ;  so  that  but  for  the  con- 
text I  could  never  have  divined  the  sense.  I  knev^  that  Alfred 
might  be  sick, —  and  am  very  sorry  to  hear  it, —  but  I  was  sure 
he  was  not  rich.  It  is  a  mortification  to  receive  a  letter  in  which 
some  words  are  illegible.  This  may  be  excused  in  an  old  man, 
like  Uncle  S.,  whose  statement  of  the  P.  O.  address  of  Ad.  Son- 
nenschein  is  utterly  useless,  for  I  cannot  read  it;  but  a  young 
person  should  try  to  make  every  letter  legible, 

I  wrote  Lizzie  from  N.  on  our  arrival ;  and  to  Alfred  from 
Pigeon  Cove.  I  left  the  Cape  last  Saturday  morning  for  North- 
boro; and  preached  here  twice  on  Sabbath.  Yesterday  I  took 
the  coach  for  Worcester,  10  miles ;  a  charming  ride  over  hill  and 
vale,  through  a  beautiful  grass  country.  I  never  before  saw  the 
natural  barrenness  of  this  region  so  fully ;  and  how  much  it  owes 
to  the  hard  labor  of  the  inhabitants  for  its  attractions.  The  soil 
is  almost  worthless,  except  for  grass ;  though  capable,  in  spots, 
of  improvement  by  cultivation,  so  as  to  produce  fair  crops.  Yet 
the  villages  and  farms  are  neat  and  beautiful ;  the  landscape, 
undulating,  with  irregular  hills,  and  tortuous  valleys ;  and  some- 
times grand  with  the  presence  of  a  lofty,  massive  mountain-ridge, 
like  Wachuset;  reminds  me  of  the  line  I  used  to  read  in  the 
"Introduction  to  the  English  Reader",  when  a  boy — ("cum  essem 
adolescens",  as  Cicero  says;) 


128  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

"Ever  charming,  ever  new, 
When  will  the  landscape  tire  the  view?" 

Our  Miami  Valley  is  beautiful ;   but  it  lacks  the  endless  diversity 
of  this  region. 

At  Worcester,  I  met  Mr.  G.  Henry  Whitcomb,  and  wife,  his 
father,  and  Mr.  Holden;  besides  a  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips  of  Colum- 
bus, O.,  and  a  Rev.  Mr.  Miles  of  Boston,  Secretary  of  the  Amei. 
Peace  Society.  Mr.  Holden  is  visiting  a  married  daughter  here. 
Mr.  Whitcomb,  Abby  Estabrook's  husband,  had  invited  me  to 
supply  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Sweeter,  whose  church  he  attends.  Per- 
haps I  may  preach  there  next  Sunday.  Mr.  W.  lives  in  a  very 
beautiful  home  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  He  had  just  bought 
a  pretty  Albert  buggy,  and  horse,  very  similar  to  ours.  He  drove 
me  from  his  office,  through  the  best  parts  of  the  town,  to  his 
house,  where  I  dined.  I  examined  his  envelope  factory;  ven' 
interesting,  as  I  had  never  seen  the  manufacture  before.  Five 
hundred  sheets  of  proper  paper  are  cut  into  fit  shape,  by  a  steel 
frame  of  the  shape  desired.  The  glutinous  matter  is  then  put  on 
where  I  have  dotted  the  outline.  This  is  done  all  at  once,  on  a 
wheel ;  by  one  revolution  of  which  they  are  dried.  Then  the  pack 
is  put  into  a  machine  no  larger  than  a  sewing  machine,  managed 
by  a  twelve  year  old  girl.  Tlie  machinery  stamps  adhesive  matter 
on  four  spots  on  the  upper  envelope ;  lifts  it  and  draws  it  under 
an  oblong  press  just  the  size  of  the  face  of  the  finished  envelope. 
This  presses  the  sheet  down  on  a  metal  plate ;  where  the  sides  and 
ends,  already  glued,  are  turned  over  by  fingers  of  steel,  and  pressed 
together.  The  bottom  plate  drops  with  it;  and  is  carried  into  a 
box,  where  the  girl  receives  it.  The  whole  is  done,  making  one 
envelope,  as  fast  as  you  can  count.  They  are  boxed  up  by  the  girl ; 
250  in  a  box.  These  boxes  are  made  in  the  same  house,  by  ma- 
chinery. Whitcomb  &  Co.  made  f,o  million  envelopes  from  Janu- 
ary to  July :  80  millions  last  year  ;  or  tzvo  for  every  man,  woman 
and  child  ;  white,  black  and  Indian  ;  in  the  United  States.  This 
is  the  way  the  Yankees  grow  rich.  This  whole  State  is  covered 
with  manufactories  of  one  sort  or  another.  I  hope,  another  Sum- 
mer, to  show  you  N.  England.  You  will  find  enough  to  repay  all 
your  trouble. 


To  His  Youngest  Daughter  129 

Tell  Alfred  to  be  very  careful  of  his  diet.  He  cannot  bolt 
his  food  as  he  does,  and  be  well  always.  Let  Cicero  ask  him: 
"Quid  enim  est  aliud,  gigantum  modo  bellare  cum  Diis,  nisi 
naturae  repugnare?" 

Love  to  all. 

Yr.  aff.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


XLIX 
TO  HIS  SON 


, ,      ,        J  ,  Forest  Hills,  Mass.,  2  August,  1871. 

My  dear  John :  >  >  a      > 

Nat  and  I  leave  here  this  morning  for  Hampton  Beach.  Your 
mother  remains  at  Uncle  Vose's,  which  she  prefers  to  the  seaside. 

I  have  spent  a  few  hours  in  the  Boston  Bookstores.  I  find 
them  quite  inferior  to  Clark's  in  Cincinnati.  I  inquired  in  a 
dozen  for  a  book  lately  published  here  by  Dr.  J.  F.  Clarke ;  but 
found  it  nowhere.  Most  of  the  trade  had  not  heard  of  it.  So 
I  found  scarcely  a  copy  of  the  Greek  Testament !  I  stepped  into 
one  of  t^^  best  in  Cornhill.  The  owner  assured  me  he  had  not 
a  N.  T.  in  his  house.  I  looked  around  a  little,  and  found  in  a 
back  corner  half  a  dozen  copies  of  Bagster's  Greek  and  English 
with  Lexicon,  like  mine  that  the  dog  tore ;  and  one  copy,  not  yet 
taken  out  of  the  wrapping,  of  the  Editio  Stephanicus;  printed  in 
Cambridge,  England,  1870;  (?)  with  the  various  readings  of 
Beza,  Elzevir,  Lachmann,  Tischendorf ,  and  Tregelles :  a  beauti- 
ful type,  only  the  Greek;  and  just  the  size  of  Bagster's  referred 
to  above.  It  is  a  gem:  cost  me  two  dollars  only;  and  is  just 
what  I  shall  need  in  my  Seminary  recitations. 

At  Northboro,  I  found  two  or  three  old  books  which  I  have 
read.  "The  Modern  Antichrist"  by  Seth  Paysen ;  of  which,  I 
think,  I  wrote  you.  This  I  have  finished  with  deep  interest. 
The  second  is  a  work  of  Andros  of  Berkley,  printed  in  Worces- 
ter, Mass.,  1802 :  a  refutation  of  Enimonism,  a  system  once 
popular  in  N.  England,  which  made  God  the  efficient  agent  in  all 
the  sinful  volitions  and  acts  of  man.  The  book  is  an  admirable 
specimen  of  scriptural  reasoning.  There  has  been  a  wonderful 
change  among  N.  England  people  since  Andros'  day.  Such  a 
sermon  as  he  preached  would  find  few  audiences  now  who  would 
care  to  listen  to  such  a  solid  body  of  compact  truth. 

I  have  diversified  my  reading  with  Cicero's  De  Senectute  and 
De  Amicitia,  which  I  have  just  finished.     They  pleased  me  so 


To  His  Son  131 

well  that  I  inquired  in  classic  Boston  for  his  De  Natnra  Deorum: 
and  after  asking  in  vain  at  a  dozen  bookstores,  and  being  shown 
his  Orations  instead  of  it,  I  dropped  into  a  large  "antique"  book 
store,  and  after  some  search,  found  it.  I  will  finish  the  two  vols. 
before  I  leave  the  seaside. 

Last  night,  I  dipped  into  Alex.  H.  Stephens'  defense  of  him- 
self and  "the  lost  cause"  of  State  rights :  a  silly  work,  in  two 
large  8vo.  vols. ;  which  he  calls  a  "Colloquy",  after  the  style  of 
Plato  and  Cicero !  But  what  a  contrast  between  the  clear,  com- 
pact, condensed  sunlight  of  Cicero;  and  the  drawling  drivel  of 
Stephens !  Cicero  is  immortal  in  60,  i8mo.  pages:  Stephens 
is  stillborn  in  1600  pages.  Truly  fieya  fii/SXiov,  fxeya  kokov.  As 
Calvin  says :  I  never  could  rid  myself  of  my  preference  for 
conciseness.  And  this  reminds  me  of  a  story.  Louis  XIV.  of 
France  loved  the  man  of  few  words.  In  traveling,  he  met  a 
priest  on  horseback.  "Hallo!  friend,"  said  he,  "Where  are  you 
from:  Whither  are  you  going?  and  what  do  you  want?"  The 
priest,  who  knew  the  King's  taste,  replied:  "From  Bruges:  to 
Paris :  a  benefice."  "You  shall  have  one,"  said  the  Monarch ; 
and  he  kept  his  word. 

Speaking  of  conciseness  reminds  me  that  I  have  yet  to  hear 
the  iirst  pleasing  and  profitable  sermon  in  Massachusetts.  I  have 
heard  four  or  five;  of  which  I  will  speak  hereafter.  If  I  judged 
all  by  them,  "ex  pende  Herculem"  is  the  old  rule,  I  'should  say 
that  the  Ministry  has  degenerated.  But  one  cannot,  unless  he  is 
a  veritable   o-xoAao-rt/cd?,  judge  a  house  by  one  brick. 

I  must  close,  as  the  cars  are  coming.  Write  me  what  is  going 
on  at  home.  If  May  has  returned,  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from 
her.  Give  my  love  to  all  friends ;  and  I  have  left  many  in  Day- 
ton, whom  I  shall  never  forget.  Kiss  Tom  and  Ethel  for  me. 
Tell  Leila  to  take  exercise,  and  not  read  much.  Let  her  paint 
her  cheeks  this  summer.  Next  summer  I  hope  to  take  her  to 
the  seaside. 

"Exhort  young  men  to  be  sober-minded." 

Yr.  aff.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


L 

TO  HIS  WIFE 


Lane  Seminary,  12  Apr.,  1873. 
Carissima  mea: 

Lizzie  has  written  you  of  her  safe  arrival  last  evening.  I 
found  her  at  home  about  6  P.  M.,  on  my  return  from  Presbytery, 
I  walked  into  the  city  toward  10  A,  M.,  and  I  remained  holding 
the  pail,  while  others  milked  the  he-goats,  till  5  P.  M.  The  sub- 
ject of  rotary  eldership  was  debated  all  day.  I  received  my 
dismission  from  Dayton  Presbytery,  and  was  enrolled  among  the 
members  of  Cincinnati  Presbytery,  afternoon.  I  had  the  mod- 
esty, however,  to  hold  my  tongue.  Lowry  (our  elder),  Dr. 
Skinner,  Mt.  Auburn  Taylor,  Furny,  (elder  of  3d  Church) 
against:  Monfort,  Hills,  Dr.  Holly,  Wyoming,  Wilson  Brown 
(elder  of  5th  Av.),  Dr.  Nelson,  etc.,  pro  rotation.  Presbytery 
decided  to  ask  the  Gen.  Assembly's  opinion  by  overture;  and 
laid  on  the  table,  by  thirty-three  to  thirty-two,  a  resolution  re- 
questing the  churches  to  elect  no  more  rotators  until  the  Assem- 
bly shall  decide  the  matter ! 

■ir-    ^    nn 

Affectionately, 

Your  Husband. 


LI 

TO  HIS  WIFE 


Oxford,  O.,  18  April,  1872. 
My  Dearest: 

The  Board  met  here  at  nine  this  morning.  I  left  home  yes- 
terday after  dinner:  spent  two  hours  with  Mr.  Taylor  and  wife. 
Took  the  cars  at  five.  Met  Jndge  McClung  at  the  Hamilton 
depot,  and  rode  out  with  him  to  spend  the  night  at  Maj.  Milli- 
kin's ;  but  on  the  way  we  met  the  Major  and  Mrs.  M.  and  Nannie 
Kennedy  going  in  to  attend  a  wedding  at  Col.  Campbell's.  His 
second  daughter  was  married  to  the  third  son  of  Thomas  Milli- 
kin,  Esq.  Maj.  Millikin's  house  was  empty  and  locked  up;  so 
Miss  K.  invited  me  to  go  to  her  father's,  which  I  did.  Found 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  K.  at  home.  Mr.  K.  has  been  very  sick  with  pneu- 
monia, but  is  out  again.  They  welcomed  me,  and  we  spent  the 
evening  very  charmingly,  talking  of  old  times,  and  of  the  trials 
through  which  the  Lord  has  led  us. 

*  *  * 

After  breakfast,  I  walked  over  toward  Maj.  M.'s ;  but  met 
him  on  his  way  for  me.  We  rode  to  H.  and  took  our  cars  for 
Oxford.  Mr.  Herron,  Judge  Gilmore,  Judge  McClung,  etc.,  were 
on  the  train.  We  have  just  adjourned  after  a  very  pleasant  ses- 
sion. We  have  adopted  Prof.  Hepburn's  plan  of  the  course  of 
study ;  have  elected  him  President ;  have  elected  a  Mr.  Coleman 
of  Virginia,  Professor  of  Greek,  etc.,  etc.  The  President  is  to 
be  inaugurated  at  the  Commencement,  and  I  am  to  deliver  the 
charge  of  the  Board. 


LII 
TO  PROFESSOR  JARED  M.  STONE 

Work  at  Lane  Seminary 


Lane  Seminary,  Cincinnati,  O., 

22  May,  1873. 
My  dear  Brother: 

Hov/  very  stony  your  heart  must  be  to  decline  the  overtures 
of  ancient  friendship !  I  wrote  you  a  year  ago,  and  you  answered 
me.  I  repHed  and  received  no  answer.  Are  we  to  keep  apart 
forever  ?  Last  month  I  met  with  the  University  Board  at  Oxford, 
of  which  I  am  a  member.  The  visit  recalled  the  memory  of  our 
early  days.  Our  Alma  Mater  is  in  a  sadly  declining  state ;  only 
some  ninety  students  during  the  year.  The  Board,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Pres.  Hepburn, —  we  chose  him  President  at  that  meet- 
ing,—  he  is  Dr.  McGuffey's  son-in-law, —  adopted  the  Virginia 
University  plan  of  study ;  hoping  that  the  change  may  secure 
additional  attendance;  but  the  prospects  are  far  from  cheering. 
Bishop,  in  the  Latin  chair,  and  Lowes  in  the  Grammar  School,  are 
all  that  remain  of  our  early  friends. 

Our  Seminary  has  been  prosperous  during  the  past  year.  I 
send  you  a  catalogue.  We  had  forty-two  students.  The  clerk 
sums  up  forty,  while  there  are  forty-one  names  printed,  and  one 
name  (P.  B.  West)  was  omitted  altogether.  As  old  Dr.  Bishop 
used  to  say,  they  were  "the  most  promising  set  of  young  men"  I 
have  met  with.  Of  our  sixteen  graduates,  three  are  going  to 
foreign  fields.     They  sail  for  Persia  in  August. 

I  need  not  say  that  my  labors  here  are  very  delightful.  The 
Seniors  study  Romans :  the  Middlers,  Robinson's  Harmony  of 
the  Gospels;  and  the  Juniors,  John,  Acts,  and  Romans,  aiming 
chiefly  at  a  knowledge  of  New  Testament  Greek.  Having  ex- 
pounded Romans  four  times,  seriatim  in  the  pulpit ;  and  taught 
it  once  or  twice  over  in  New  Albany  Seminary ;  I  have  felt  the 
more  confidence  in  undertaking  to  unfold  the  meaning  of  it  now. 


To  Professor  Jared  M.  Stone  135 

But  what  could  be  more  charming, —  that  is  not  the  word, — 
more  sweetly  attractive,  than  to  follow  with  minute  accuracy, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  four  evangelists,  every  footstep  of  our 
divine  Lord !  To  be  sure  we  could  do  this  but  partially  in  one 
term.  Another  year,  I  hope  to  be  ready  for  a  more  carefully  se- 
lected course  of  study  in  the  life  of  Christ. 

In  teaching  both  the  upper  classes,  I  have  adopted  the  course 
of  thoroughly  prepared,  but  unwritten  lectures.  I  have  some- 
times made  notes  upon  the  more  difficult  passages,  but  rather  for 
future  than  for  present  use.  This  method  gives  more  freedom 
and  life  to  my  lectures  ;  and  is  more  stimulating  to  the  young 
men,  who  have  freely  expressed  their  satisfaction  with  the  method. 
It  might  be  liable  to  superficiality  and  dififuseness ;  but  that  de- 
pends on  the  exactness  of  one's  preparation,  and  the  power  of 
concise  expression  acquired  by  the  professor. 

We  have  a  fair  prospect  for  the  coming  year :  yet  our  Senior 
class  for  '73  will  be  almost  one-half  smaller  than  the  last.  It  was 
sadly  interfered  with,  before  I  came,  by  the  marriage  of  one-half 
its  members,  which  scattered  them.  If  there  are  any  young  men 
of  your  acquaintance  whom  you  can  direct  hither,  we  shall  be 
obliged  to  you.  Our  scholarship  funds  were  ample  for  the  aid 
of  more  than  applied. 

Let  me  hear  from  you  before  we  go  East ;  which  will  be  about 
the  25th  of  June.  Tell  me  how  life  goes  with  you.  How  I  should 
enjoy  a  day  or  two's  intercourse  with  you  !  Mrs.  T.  joins  me  in 
love. 


LIII 
TO  HIS  WIFE 


Lane  Seminary,  Cinti.,  O., 

25  May,  1872. 

Dear  Mother: 

Alfred  and  I  went  directly  from  the  depot  to  Dr.  Mussey's 
office.  He  examined  A.'s  hand  quietly,  and  told  him  at  once  what 
must  be  done.  A.  says  the  Doctor's  quiet  and  decided  and  prompt 
reply  to  every  question  he  put,  has  given  him  a  confidence  in  his 
skill  and  knowledge  of  the  case,  that  he  has  heretofore  felt  in  no 
surgeon  who  has  examined  his  hand. 

Dr.  M.  said  an  operation  is  the  only  cure.  A.  will  be  confined 
to  his  bed  to  recover  from  the  chloroform,  and  to  avoid  the  fever 
which  usually  accompanies  a  surgical  operation.  In  three  or  four 
weeks  the  hand  will  be  entirely  healed.  The  Doctor  fixed  on 
Tuesday  for  the  operation  to  be  performed  in  our  rooms  on  the 
Hills :  he  probed  the  hand  in  two  places,  and  at  once  decided  where 
the  necrosis  was  situated.  The  whole  visit  has  greatly  relieved 
Alfred,  who  awaits  the  operation  with  courage  and  cheerfulness. 

Tuesday,  28  May. 

*  *  Yesterday  morning,  we  walked  around  to  Dr.  Monfort's 
and  chatted  for  an  hour  or  more.  The  Dr.  gave  me  two  books  to 
read ;  Dr.  Stanley's  Lectures  on  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  his 
History  of  the  Church  in  the  East.  The  former  I  read  through 
yesterday.  It  is  about  300  pp.,  8vo.  Dr.  Stanley  belongs  to  the 
broad  church  of  England.  He  aims  to  show  that  all  the  branches 
of  the  Scotch  Church  are  to  be  recognized  as  one  body :  that  the 
Evangelical  party.  Covenanters,  Seceders,  etc.,  were  narrow  and 
bigoted  in  their  alienation  from  the  Moderates  :  that  Walter  Scott 
was  a  great  religious  teacher;  and  that  LIume  and  Burns  were 
very  probably  sincere  Christians  ! 

*  *  * 


To  His  Wife  137 

29th  May. 
Dearest : 

I  wrote  you  a  letter  yesterday  before  the  Doctor  came;  and 
after  the  operation  was  performed  I  telegraphed  you  of  its  com- 
plete success ;  that  your  mind  might  be  freed  from  the  anxiety, 
which,  from  my  own  experience,  I  knew  you  would  feel. 

*  *  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  threw  away  what  I  invested  in 
bi-chromate  of  morphia;  for  A.  has  lain  quiet  and  comfortable. 
Not  a  symptom  of  fever  has  appeared ;  and  he  says  his  hand  has 
not  felt  so  comfortable  for  years.  If,  as  I  hope,  the  Doctor  has 
reached  and  removed  the  seat  of  the  diseased  joint,  the  whole 
thing  will  prove  a  happy  success ;  and  you  may  congratulate  your- 
self on  the  persistency  with  which  you  have  urged  him  to  consult 
Dr.  Mussey  —  a  quality,  by  the  way,  for  which  you  do  not  always 
receive  the  credit  you  deserve ! 

As  to  myself,  my  knee  is  entirely  restored.  Don't  be  dis- 
tressed about  me.     There  are  bones  in  me  yet. 

31  May. 
My  dear  Wife : 

*  *  Nothing  can  be  more  soothing  than  the  repose  of  the 
Seminary  square  just  now.  The  birds  fill  our  trees  with  their 
sweet  music,  and,  with  the  sounds  of  the  bus-driver's  horn,  soft- 
ened by  distance,  add  to  the  charm  of  our  surroundings.  "Every 
prospect  pleases",  and  the  few  gentlemen  and  ladies  here  cannot 
be  called  "vile".  Nothing  is  wanted  but  "the  light  of  the  home", 
and  the  "cub".  Al.  and  I  have  grand  sleep  o'  nights  ;  though  I  rise 
about  5  o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  retire  at  10  P.  M.,  very  much 
to  Alfred's  amazement.  I  am  in  hope  of  getting  him  into  good 
habits  before  he  returns  to  Dayton. 

In  these  sweet  surroundings,  this  cool  weather,  and  this  de- 
lightful quiet,  you  may  believe  that  I  indulge  my  usual  disposition 
to  read.  I  shall  finish  Stanley's  Lectures  on  the  Church  of  the 
East.  It  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating,  instructive,  and  graphic 
books  I  have  read  since  perusing  the  pages  of  Lord  Macaulay.  It 
traces,  among  other  things,  the  origin  and  history  of  your  favor- 
ites, the  Nestorians,  or  Chaldean  Christians.  His  picture  of  the 
Council  of  Nice  (A.  D.  325)  is  perfectly  beautiful.  *  * 


138  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

This  morning  we  visited  the  Seminary  Library  with  Prof. 
Evans,  who  unlocked  for  us  the  hidden  treasures  —  the  old  Greek 
and  Hebrew  and  Latin  MSS. ;  of  which  there  are  several;  some 
of  them  exquisitely  illuminated ;  and  the  rare  and  costly  books, 
French  and  English.  I  shall  be  glad  to  show  them  to  you  on  your 
return.  There  are  scfne  fine  old  volumes  of  engravings  accom- 
panying the  Explorations  made  in  Egypt  by  the  Savants  who  fol- 
lowed the  fortunes  of  "Napoleon  le  grande". 

Aff.  Yrs., 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


LIV 
TO  HIS  CHILDREN 


Northboro,  Mass.,  5  July,  1872. 
My  dear  Children : 

We  left  home  (i  :45  A.  M.,  on  Thursday  last.  The  morning 
was  delightfully  cool,  and  our  ride  charming.  *  *  We  reached 
N.  about  6  P.  M.  Friday;  and  found  Grandpa  waiting  for  us. 
I  found  Mr.  Wilcox  just  returned  to  his  family,  after  three  months 
absence.  He  is  a  very  cultivated,  intelligent  gentleman,  and  a 
pleasant  companion.  All  the  family  had  visited  the  Colosseum  — 
Gilmore's  Musical  Peace  Jubilee  —  except  Nattie  Wilcox.  He 
could  not  go  without  an  escort :  so  he  and  Nat  and  I  set  off  Satur- 
day noon,  and  reached  the  scene  at  2  :30  P.  M.  The  vast  hall 
covers  several  acres.  It  is  estimated  to  seat  four  and  a  half  acres 
of  people ;  to  seat  40,000 ;  and  probably  50,000  were  seated  and 
standing  there  when  we  reached  it.  Our  first  attempt  to  find  a 
seat  brought  us  into  a  crowd  and  a  jam  out  of  which  we  could  not 
extricate  ourselves  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  Nat  became 
quite  alarmed ;  women  cried,  gentlemen  called  for  the  police,  who 
were  everywhere,  and  who  soon  opened  a  way  of  escape.  We 
went  to  the  lower  floor,  and  I  held  Nat  on  my  shoulders  for  half 
an  hour  while  he  gazed  at  the  singers.  Afterwards  we  found  a 
place  on  the  main  stairway,  where  we  had  a  good  view  of  the  vast 
crowd,  as  well  as  of  the  singers  and  musicians.  N.  and  I  re- 
mained till  the  close  of  the  exhibition,  and  then  were  glad  to 
escape  the  terrible  heat.  The  thermometer  was  98° ;  some  twenty 
people,  male  and  female,  were  carried  out  fainting  from  our  part 
of  the  house;  and  108  fainted  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  in 
the  building,  who  were  carried  to  the  police  headquarters.  This 
may  give  you  some  idea  of  the  pressure  and  heat.  Yet,  on  the 
whole,  the  crowd  was  one  of  the  most  orderly  and  quiet  and  polite 
that  I  ever  saw.  There  was  not  one  example  of  rowdyism,  or 
ill-behavior.  We  heard  the  Prussian,  French,  and  English  bands 
—  the   Irish   appeared   first   on    Monday  —  Mad.   Leutner    (pro- 


John  C.  Thomas 


Nathaniel  F.  Thomas 
Miranda  May  Thomas 


Nathaniel  F.  Thomas 


To  His  Children  141 

nounced  Litener),  etc.,  etc.  As  to  enjoyable  music,  I  have  often 
heard  what  was  far  more  delightful.  Mad.  L.'s  singing  was  what 
Al.  would  call  magnificent  "squalking" :  a  splendid  exhibition  of 
power,  compass,  and  flexibility  of  voice ;  the  notes  clear,  soft,  and 
musical ;  yet  on  the  whole,  the  five  minutes  display  exciting  won- 
der rather  than  delight. 

Taken  altogether,  the  Musical  Jubilee  was  a  monster-humbug ; 
proving  what  can  be  done  if  people  will  submit  to  the  inconveni- 
ence and  expense;  and  giving  to  hundreds  of  thousands  some 
idea  of  what  highly  cultivated  music  may  be.  The  band-playing 
was  admirable;  if  one  had  been  so  situated  as  to  enjoy  it.  For 
myself,  my  linen  dress  was  wet  throughout,  even  my  pantaloons 
discolored  as  if  water  had  been  poured  on  them.  My  shirt-collar 
wilted  at  the  first  onset,  and  for  the  last  hour  I  covered  my  bald 
head  with  my  handkerchief  often  dipped  in  cold  water,  instead  of 
a  hat,  as  did  scores  of  others,  to  avoid  congestion  of  the  brain ! 
It  was  amusing  to  see  young  ladies  fanning  themselves  frantically, 
stout  old  ladies  and  portly  gentlemen,  evidently  accustomed  to 
comfortable  quarters,  looking  desperately  around  for  breathing 
places,  while  the  perspiration  rolled  off  them  in  streams !  The 
pursuit  of  music  under  difficulties  ! 

"When  Music,  heavenly  maid,  was  young, 
While  yet  in  early  Greece  she  sung." 

it  is  to  be  hoped  that  she  enjoyed  a  cooler  retreat  for  ''her  forceful 
art"  than  the  Colosseum  at  Boston. 

We  reached  home  on  Saturday  night,  and  I  found  that  I  was 
expected  to  preach  for  the  Baptist  minister.  Sabbath  morning. 
Happily,  the  morning  was  cool,  though  before  noon  the  thermom- 
eter reached  98  again ;  and  as  I  had  purposely  left  my  "notes"  at 
Walnut  Hills,  I  was  able,  under  the  shadow  of  the  trees  around 
the  Stone  Cottage,  to  gather  up  a  train  of  thought  on  a  text  from 
which  I  had  never  preached  before,  and  which  had,  therefore,  the 
charm  of  freshness  to  myself. 

Tuesday  morning,  July  2nd,  we  went  by  rail  to  Norton,  and 
stopped  at  the  Mansion  House,  as  it  is  called.  We  found  Leila, 
Ida  and  Mary  well  and  happy.  Leila  had  received  my  letter  and 
remittance.     She  had  concluded,  however,  from  the  experience 


142  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

of  other  people,  who  had  tried  "the  Jubilee",  to  give  up  the  thought 
of  attending.  We  found  the  public  examinations  in  progress.  I 
heard  part  of  that  on  Astronomy.  The  girls  called  Uranus, 
Uranus,  and  confounded  Saturn  with  Mercury,  with  soft  tones 
and  blushes  that  might  have  made  Jupiter  himself  smile  and  par- 
don the  innocent  beauties. 

The  procession  of  100  young  ladies,  dressed  in  white, —  the 
Seniors  in  white,  with  sky-blue  bodices  and  trimmings, —  led  by 
the  Band,  and  the  Instructors,  was  the  prettiest  sight  I  ever  saw 
in  muslin  —  except  your  Mother.  But  the  church  was  locked 
against  all  comers  till  the  procession  approached.  Your  Ma  and 
I  walked  down  in  the  cool  morning,  but  could  get  no  admission. 
Presently  I  saw  the  Lady  preceptor  who  had  charge  of  the  seating 
of  the  audience.  I  asked  her  what  the  arrangements  were  as  to 
admission,  telling  her  that  I  was  the  father  of  Leila  Thomas,  and 
that  her  mother  who  had  come  from  Cincinnati  to  be  present, 
would  be  glad  of  a  comfortable  seat.  She  replied  that  as  your  Ma 
v;as  lame  they  would  make  an  exception  of  her,  and  ordered  the 
Janitor  to  open  the  door.  I  assisted  Ma  up  stairs  to  the  door, 
stepping  back  that  she  might  enter  first,  when,  presto !  the  m.o- 
ment  your  Mother  entered  the  door  was  slapped  to  and  locked 
in  my  face.  I  explained  to  Cerberus  that  the  lady  was  my  wife, 
and  I  should  be  glad  if  he  would  let  me  in,  or  let  her  out;  but  it 
was  no  go  —  he  was  inexorable,  he  had  his  orders,  and  law  was 
law  thereabouts.  I  sat  down  on  the  steps  as  disconsolate  as  Apol- 
lo's priest  in  Homer,  when  "the  King  of  men"  had  refused  him 
his  daughter.  Presently  a  group  of  young  lads,  evidently  from 
the  neighborhood,  with  their  lasses,  approached  the  door,  and 
after  a  little  parley  were  admitted  without  difficulty ;  although 
"the  procession"  had  not  yet  put  in  an  appearance.  Presently  the 
Janitor  came  and  told  me  I  might  enter.  I  told  him  that  I  had 
concluded  to  keep  out  of  that  particular  "meetin  'us"  forez'er ;  and 
so  I  did;   like  "Mary's  little  lamb," 

"  waiting  patiently  about 

Till  wifie  did  appear". 

The  exercises  closed,  of  which  I  heard  as  much  as  I  cared  for 
outside,  at  the  windows,  the  procession  reformed,  and  the  com- 
pany,—  furnished  with  tickets  from  Mrs.  Metcalf's  office, —  gath- 


To  His  Children  143 

ered  in  the  dining-room  for  a  collation.  The  afternoon  was  spent 
under  the  fine  shade  trees  of  the  Seminary,  groups  of  friends  chat- 
ting together,  while  the  Band  discoursed  eloquent  music. 

At  night  we  returned  to  our  Hotel,  to  rest  till  4  A.  M.,  when 
we  were  to  take  the  cars.  But  we  were  awaked  toward  10  by  a 
set  of  rowdies  such  as  I  never  saw  in  Ohio ;  boys  and  young  men, 
making  night  hideous  by  serenades  (Sic),  firing  guns,  etc.,  till  I 
was  ready  to  fire  on  them.  Six  or  eight  took  rooms  near  us  in  the 
Mansion  House,  where  they  smoked,  drank,  told  stories,  and 
roared,  till  half  past  one  in  the  morning.  The  landlord  showed 
no  concern  for  the  comfort  of  his  guests,  and  at  4  A.  M.  we  gladly 
left  "his  precincts",  as  Miss  Fenner  would  say,  again,  forever. 

We  met  Mrs.  Wait  at  Norton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emerson,  Lillie 
Thomas,  Mr.  Kimball,  etc.  Ma,  Leila,  Nat,  Lillie,  Mary,  and 
I,  with  a  bevy  of  beauties  from  the  Seminary,  took  the  home  train 
at  Mansfield.  We  six  are  here,  where  Leila  will  spend  a  week 
with  her  cousins.  Three  of  us  go  tomorrow  to  Forrest  Hills, 
where  Ma  will  stay  till  Nat  and  I  find  a  seaside  retreat.  I  will  go 
toward  Providence,  or  Stonington,  perhaps  turn  in  at  Rocky  Point 
if  I  find  suitable  quarters.  Then,  next  week,  I  hope  to  gather  the 
group  round  me,  and  sit  down  to  sea  air  and  study.  I  have  already 
read  not  a  little.  A  new  book,  "Homo  vs.  Darwin",  the  case 
argued  before  Lord  C,  an  English  Judge  appointed  to  arbitrate 
the  cause,  has  amused  me  much.  Homo  sues  Darwin  for  libel,  in 
affirming  that  his  ancestor  was  "a  hairy  quadruped  resembling  an 
ape" !  I  will  send  you  the  book  by  express  when  I  can  buy  it. 
This  is  Mr.  Wilcox's. 


LV 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dennis,  Cape  Cod,  Mass., 

15  July,  1873. 

My  dear  Alfred : 

On  Monday  we  took  the  Old  Colony  cars  for  Yarmouth,  and 
reached  it  at  7  P.  M.  A  carriage  which  I  drove  took  us  four, 
while  a  baggage  wagon  was  filled  with  our  five  trunks.  We 
reached  Mrs.  Howes',  next  door  to  Capt.  Nathan  Hull's,  at  9 
P.  M.  Mrs.  H.  having  gone  on  a  visit  to  a  neighbor,  however, 
the  neighbors  gathered  around  us,  hunted  up  the  daughters,  and 
helped  us  in  to  the  house.  Mrs.  Howes'  husband  and  son  are 
fishing  for  mackerel  off  the  Georgian  banks,  beyond  Newfound- 
land. She  has  two  neat,  quiet  daughters,  of  15  and  9  years.  Her 
house  is  small,  but  clean  and  neat.  We  are  alone  here,  and  that 
is  much  pleasanter  than  to  be  part  of  the  16  who  fill  Capt.  Hull's 
house.  U  Dr.  Nelson  and  Mr.  A.  T.  FuUerton  join  us,  we  shall 
have  all  we  wish. 

Leila,  Nat  and  I,  with  a  score  of  ladies  and  girls  from  other 
houses,  enjoyed  our  first  Sea  bath  as  a  family.  Leila  had  never 
seen  the  sea  till  yesterday. 

Wed.  July  17.  I  wrote  so  far  yesterday  and  was  called  off. 
The  nights  are  cool  here,  and  our  sleep  is  long  and  invigorating. 
At  10  this  morning  we  took  our  usual  bath.  Nothing  can  exceed 
the  convenience  of  the  place  for  bathing.  The  water  is  clear  as 
purity  itself ;  the  floor  smooth  and  hard ;  and  the  depth  increases 
so  gradually  that  one  fears  no  danger.  The  remainder  of  our 
day,  so  far,  is  devoted  to  meals  and  books.  Today  I  began 
Jowett's  translation  of  Plato's  Dialogues.  Have  read  Charmides, 
and  Lysis;  Thate  (?)  on  "Temperance",  Soundmindedness,  it 
should  rather  be  called :  the  Greek  a-acl>poavvrj,  the  quality  which 
Paul  urges  upon  young  men,  (Tit.  2,  6)  "Young  men  likewise 
exhort  to  be  sober-minded" ,   (Tw(}>povuv.        The  Lysis   treats  of 


To  His  Son  145 

Friendship.  The  pictures  of  Greek  Hfe  which  these  dialogues  pre- 
sent is  curious.  With  all  our  "advanced  thinking",  and  boasted 
progress,  where  should  we  find  elegant  young  gentlemen  of  wealth 
and  leisure  who  could  find  pleasure  in  such  philosophic  conversa- 
tions as  these?  I  hope  to  read  most  of  the  pieces  in  Jowett's  four 
volumes  during  my  sojourn  here ;  but  this  is  only  relaxation. 
My  serious  business  is  to  read  up  the  literature  of  the  Life  of 
Christ,  written  since  I  graduated,  in  1834.  Strauss  published  his 
first  Lcben  Jesii  in  1835.  His  aim  was  to  overthrow,  by  all  the 
arts  and  power  of  hostile  criticism,  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  He 
brings  up  a  prodigious  array  of  learning,  gathered  from  every 
quarter ;  yet  the  gist  of  his  argument  is  simply  a  petitio  principii, 
or  begging  of  the  question.  All  that  is  supernatural  is  unscientific, 
and  impossible ;  therefore  the  Sacred  Records,  which  are  full  of 
the  Supernatural,  are  wholly  incredible  in  their  literal  sense.  They 
must  therefore  be  regarded  as  legendary,  from  which  such  sense 
must  be  extracted  as  one  may  be  able  to  gather.  Dr.  Sears'  reply 
to  this  part  of  Strauss  is  good ;  assuming,  somewhat,  the  doctrine 
of  Argyle's  "Reign  of  Law".  Yet  Sears'  book  is  deformed  by  his 
attempt  to  make  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  conformable  to  modern 
Science ;  especially  where  he  adopts  St.  George  Mivart's  theory  of 
"Derivate  creation",  a  modification  of  Darwin's  Natural  selection. 

I  am  astonished  the  more  I  read  Strauss,  at  the  *  *  spirit  in 
which  he  undertakes  to  "investigate"  the  case  presented  by  the 
Evangelists.  "Philosophy",  "modern  thought",  has  satisfied  him 
that  miracles  and  prophecy  are  impossible!  How  then  can  he, 
with  this  fixed  "presupposition",  fairly  inquire  into  the  testimony 
of  a  Volume  which  is  nothing,  if  it  be  not  supernatural ! 

All  that  Theodore  Parker  and  his  school  has  uttered  is  but  a 
re-hash  of  Strauss ;   and  the  Tubingen  critics.  *  * 

Let  us  hear  from  you  frequently.  Do  not  leave  Walnut  Hills 
until  you  are  entirely  healed  of  your  wound.  Be  patient.  Read 
and  think.     All  send  love. 

Yr.  aff.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


LVI 
TO  HIS  SON 


Dennis,  Cape  Cod,  Mass., 

22  July,  1872. 
My  dear  John: 

Your  kind  letter  of  the  17th  reached  us  after  dinner  today, 
and  was  as  refreshing  as  a  shower  in  a  warm  day. 

At  5  P.  M.  I  attended  the  little  church  here ;  and  found  a 
small  prayer  meeting,  which  I  took  part  in.  After  service  I  fell 
in  with  an  old  gentleman  who  "seemed  to  be  a  pillar",  and  had 
a  long  conversation  with  him  on  the  religious  state  and  history 
of  Dennis.  He  resembled  all  old  gentlemen  since  Homer's  time 
in  thinking  that  the  former  days  were  better  than  these.  He 
describes  all  the  population  of  Dennis,  50  years  ago,  as  "regular 
meetiners" ;  coming  out  to  public  worship  on  all  occasions.  Now, 
however,  "few  come  to  the  solemn  feasts".  The  old  Pastor, 
Stearns,  many  years  ago,  became  a  Unitarian,  and  carried  off 
a  part  of  his  flock,  who  built  a  house  of  worship  that  is  now  left 
to  the  moles  and  bats.  Then  a  set  of  Theodore  Parkerites,  who 
called  themselves  Evangelists,  set  up  a  sanctuary :  the  Universal- 
ists  established  a  service,  but  that  has  gone  the  way  of  all  the 
earth.  The  Wesleyan  Methodists  bought  the  house  of  the 
"Evangelists" ;  and  last  of  all,  a  late  Minister  persuaded  the 
Methodists,  Congregationalists,  Unitarians,  Universalists,  Evan- 
gelists, and  Nothingarians,  to  form  a  Union  Society;  which 
seems  to  result  in  pleasing  nobody. 

For  myself,  I  am  dipping  daily  into  Strauss,  Ebrard,  Nean- 
der,  Lange,  Ellicott  and  Stearns ;  with  relaxation  in  Plato's  Dia- 
logues. Socrates  was  a  wonderful  old  chap.  The  Athenians 
must  have  enjoyed  the  sharp  encounter  of  men's  wits,  to  listen  to 
such  discussions  as  the  Protagoras ;  but  the  element  of  moral 
earnestness  was  lacking.  How  wonderful,  in  their  spirituality, 
sincerity,  earnestness,  and  suitableness  to  all  capacities,  are  the 


To  His  Son  147 

discourses  of  our  Lord,  when  read  side  by  side  with  these  ad- 
mired Platonic  representations  of  the  Socratic  dialectics !  How 
true  of  His  reported  conversations,  what  was  said  of  his  spoken 
ones:   He  speaks  ivith  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes! 

At  intervals,  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  'my  companions,  I  read 
Nat's  book  aloud,  Two  Years  Before  the  Mast,  by  Dana.  It 
gives  a  good  inside  view  of  sailor  life,  and  is  not  adapted  to 
encourage  young  Americans  to  hanker  after  sailor  life.  It  pre- 
sents, too,  an  interesting  narrative  of  life  on  the  California  coast 
before  the  country  was  annexed  to  the  U.  S.  Romanism  had 
uncontrolled  sway  there;  no  Protestant  being  allowed  to  spend 
more  than  a  few  weeks  on  the  coast,  unless  he  belonged  to  a 
foreign  vessel.  (P.  90).  This  was  the  case  at  San  Francisco, 
San  Diego,  etc.  Yet  the  condition  of  the  people,  Spanish  and 
Indian,  was  degraded  and  miserable :  no  education,  no  morality, 
no  religion,  no  comfort!  Thank  God,  all  that  dog-in-the-manger 
influence  of  Romanism  is  gone  forever,  not  only  in  California, 
but  even  in  Mexico. 

We  shall  probably  leave  Dennis  for  Washington  City  after 
two  weeks  from  tomorrow ;  where  your  Mother  will  visit  her 
sister,  while  I  take  Nat  to  visit  Dr.  MacDermont  at  Hampton. 
I  never  saw  Washington,  nor  Virginia  on  the  Potomac.  Per- 
haps I  may  never  have  a  more  favorable  opportunity.  My  own 
wish  would  be  bring  Leila  home,  and  send  her  to  school  nearer 
us ;  but  she  seems  anxious  to  graduate  at  Norton.  The  thing  is 
not  absolutely  determined ;  but  this  is  the  probable  issue,  when 
tiuo  ladies,  a  wife  and  daughter,  are  set  upon  one  man! 

As  to  politics,  one  would  not  imagine,  from  all  that  I  have 
heard,  that  a  presidential  election  was  impending.  Nobody 
speaks  of  it.  Except  the  two  men  I  met  at  Niantic, —  one  of 
whom  admitted  that  he  "had  suffered  at  Grant's  hands", —  I  have 
not  seen  a  Greeley  man  since  I  left  home  !     That  is  the  simple  fact. 


LVII 
TO  HIS  SON 


Washington  City,  D.  C. 
Treasury  Department,  Solicitor's  Office, 
13th  August,  1873. 
My  dear  John : 

Your  last  reached  us  on  the  11th.  While  I  regret  the  loss  of 
your  company  to  Hampton,  and  home,  I  cannot  but  approve  your 
reasons.  I  would  hardly  give  $100  for  three  weeks  enjoyment 
of  this  sultry  season,  with  the  thermometer  at  96°  daily.  But  I 
am  in  for  it,  and  must  go  through.  We  arrived  here  on  the  7th. 
I  have  been  doing  the  Capitol ;  Saturday  the  Patent  Office. 
Monday,  the  Smithsonian,  and  Agricultural  Hall.  On  Sabbath, 
I  preached  to  a  large  congregation  in  Dr.  Sunderland's  church, 
the  First  Presbyterian.  He  and  his  family  are  away.  Dr.  Gur- 
ley's  son,  a  member  of  that  church,  called  on  us  with  his  mother, 
and  a  Mr.  Knight,  an  elder.  Many  of  the  regular  congregation 
are  absent :  but  the  Metropolitan  M.  E.  Church  —  President 
Grant's  —  near  by,  having  no  minister  that  day,  came  over  to 
Dr.  Sunderland's.  I  had  a  very  attentive  congregation,  for  an 
hour  and  a  half,  though  the  thermometer  stood  at  95^°.  I 
found  an  old  college  friend.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  W.  McLain,  for  thirty 
years  Secretary  of  the  Amer.  Colonization  Society,  on  his  sick 
bed,  dying  of  consumption.  I  last  saw  his  wife  on  her  bridal 
tour,  in  an  Ohio  steamboat !  Now  she  is  grayheaded,  and  almost 
widowed !  How  rapidly  the  important  interval  has  passed !  I 
called  on  Mrs.  Gurley  last  evening.  She  has  a  pleasant  house,  a 
present  from  her  husband's  friends  and  hers.  She  told  me  that 
James  M.  Ray,  of  Indianapolis,  brother-in-law  of  Dr.  Monfort, 
is  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  Departments  here,  earning  a  bare  liveli- 
hood. I  knew  him  well  as  Cashier  of  the  Indiana  State  Bank 
for  years,  a  man  of  large  means,  the  best  financier  of  Indiana,  an 
elder  in  the  1st  Church,  and  the  head  of  one  of  the  loveliest 
Christian  families  I  ever  knew.      How  strange  these  views  of 


To  His  Son  149 

life  which  meet  one  after  long  acquaintance  with  it,  and  teach 
a  lesson,  not  to  be  learned  otherwise,  of  its  utter  vanity !  Last 
night,  there  called  on  us  a  Airs.  Levy,  a  sister-in-law  of  Mrs. 
Trotter  of  Xenia,  O.  Her  grandfather  was  Col.  Nicholas,  the 
associate  of  General  Breckenridge,  Robert  J.  Breckenridge's  father. 
Gen.  B.  and  Col.  N.  were  the  fathers  of  the  Kentucky  Constitu- 
tion of  1796.  Her  mother,  Miss  Nicholas,  married  a  Trotter. 
The  Trotters  were  among  the  F.  F.  K.'s.  Mrs.  L.  is  a  leading 
woman  in  the  2d  Church  —  Dr.  Christie's.  She  was  once  the 
next  door  neighbor  and  playmate  of  Henry  Clay's  children ;  and 
when  married,  was  intimate  with  his  family.  They  say  that  a 
large  proportion  of  those  who  write  in  the  departments  are  people 
who  have  sought  refuge  here  from  the  shipwreck  of  better  for- 
tunes. 

I  was  quite  disappointed  by  my  first  view  of  Washington. 
The  road  from  Baltimore  lies  through  a  broken  and  barren  coun- 
try:  the  soil  a  sandy  clay  of  mingled  red  and  white;  and  show- 
ing the  traces  everywhere  of  exhaustion  by  slave-labor.  We 
enter  from  the  North  where  the  streets  are  unfinished,  and  the 
houses  few  and  far  between.  The  depot  stands  not  two  squares 
from  Alfred's  house,  and  twice  that  distance  from  the  capitol, 
and  over  the  park  in  front  where  the  marine  band  was  playing. 
The  whole  pile  seemed  to  me  low  and  disproportioned ;  and  the 
surroundings  despicable.  I  wrote  out  my  first  impressions  next 
day  in  a  letter  to  Lizzie ;   but  concluded  afterwards  not  to  send  it. 

But  a  more  careful  survey  of  the  whole  city  has  quite  modi- 
fied these  first  impressions.  Washington  lies  in  a  valley  unequal- 
ly cut  by  the  Potomac,  and  surrounded  by  hills  of  moderate 
height.  West  of  the  river,  and  near  by,  rise  the  Arlington 
Heights,  crowned  by  the  mansion  once  owned  by  General 
Lee.  The  river  is  a  mile  wide  here;  and  the  ground, 
which  is  level  and  low  on  this  side,  rises  gradually  eastward  and 
northward.  The  capitol  stands  on  the  summit  of  the  rise,  of  the 
second  plateau  one  might  say ;  and  forms  the  acropolis  of  the 
city.  From  its  several  fronts,  or  ends,  run,  at  right  angles,  the 
central  streets  —  East,  West,  North,  and  South  Capitol  Streets. 
Those  running  parallel  to  the  East  and  West  Capitol  Streets  are 
called  A.  St.,  B.  St.,  C.  St.,  etc.     Those  at  right  angles  to  these. 


150  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

are  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  etc.  The  Avenues,  as  they  are  called,  radiate 
from  the  capitol  in  all  directions ;  while  others  run  diagonally 
across  the  whole  city.  This  mode  of  street  making  leaves  small 
triangles  at  the  intersections  of  streets  and  avenues ;  which  are 
fenced  into  parkettes,  and  planted  with  trees ;  thus  establishing 
breathing  spaces  in  all  quarters 

The  city  lies  all  around  the  capitol.  It  was  a  mere  marsh 
to  the  southwest  when  first  laid  out ;  and  it  was  believed  that 
the  high  plateau  to  the  east  of  the  Capitol  would  be  the  populous 
part;  so  the  Capitol  faces  the  east.  But  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
"the  Avenue",  as  they  call  it,  stretches  out  a  little  north  of  east 
from  the  Capitol  to  the  President's  House,  a  mile  distant ;  a 
broad  and  inviting  street,  along  which  and  to  the  north  of  which, 
the  main  population  settled,  in  the  segment  of  a  circle,  included 
between  Maryland  and  New  Jersey  Avenues  for  radii,  as  marked 
on  the  map  in  a  good  atlas. 

The  capitol  is  a  vast  and  massive  edifice :  75  by  325  (  ?)  feet. 
It  stands  exactly  North  and  South  for  length,  and  facing  E^st. 
It  is  a  composite  of  two  eras.  The  old  Capitol  was  built  of  sand- 
stone, which  is  painted  white,  to  correspond  with  the  modern 
addition  of  wings.  These  are  of  cream-colored  marble,  and  are 
really  magnificent  in  themselves ;  but  the  tout  ensemble,  as  the 
French  say,  is  a  failure.  The  wings  are  too  large  for  the  center, 
and  spoil  the  effect  of  the  whole.  It  was  no  doubt  contemplated, 
in  building  the  new  wings,  that  the  entire  center,  or  old  Capitol, 
should  be  removed,  and  replaced  by  a  larger  structure,  of  m.arble, 
proportioned  in  height  to  the  new  wings.  The  dome,  that  springs 
from  the  centre  building,  is  grand  and  beautiful.  Around  the 
base  of  the  upper  member  of  the  dome,  are  inscribed  the  words, 
"E  pluribus  Unum".  This  was  done  under  the  direction  of 
Jeff.  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  State ;  little  foreseeing,  doubtless, 
with  how  deadly  a  blow  at  his  own  ambitious  schemes  that  UNUM 
would  be  established  forever !  As  I  look  at  the  north  end,  from 
Alfred's  balcony,  that  Unum  is  the  only  word  I  see. 

It  would  require  pages  to  describe  the  interior  of  the  Capitol. 


To  His  Son  151 

The  Rotunda  is  circled  with  large,  historic  paintings,  none  of 
much  merit,  but  many  of  them  valuable  for  the  historic  portraits 
of  revolutionary  heroes.  De  Soto's  discovery  of  the  Mississippi 
fills  one  compartment.  The  painter  has  committed  the  singular 
blunder  of  placing  De  Soto  and  his  companions  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  river,  as  indicated  by  a  floating  tree  carried  by  the  current 
root  foremost,  of  course.  As  De  Soto  set  out  from  Florida,  he 
could  never  have  reached  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi  with- 
out crossing  it.  The  discovery,  therefore,  could  not  have  taken 
place  from  that  side !  Perhaps  the  painter  had  not  read  the  his- 
tory of  De  Soto's  expedition. 

Well,  my  sheet  shuts  me  off.  We  hope  to  leave  for  Ohio  and 
home  tomorrow.     All  well  and  send  love. 


LVIII 
TO  HIS  CHILDREN 


National  Military  Asylum, 

Southern  Branch. 

,,      .         r-1  -u  Hampton,  Va.,  23  Aug.,  1872. 

My  dear  Children :  f      ,         ,  & , 

I  have  already  written  you  of  our  arrival  here,  and  of  our 
pleasant  trip  down  the  Potomac.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  MacDermont 
have  been  exceedingly  kind  to  us.  We  have  had  drives  over  the 
land,  sailing  —  rowing  rather  —  over  the  water,  and  every  oppor- 
tunity to  see  and  enjoy  the  lions  —  and  bears  —  of  the  vicinity. 
The  hot  weather,  however,  has  confined  our  explorations  to  the 
mornings  and  evenings  mainly.  The  country,  the  people,  the 
buildings,  the  culture,  and  to  some  extent  the  fauna  and  flora 
of  land  and  water,  are  new  to  me.  First,  the  land  lies  low,  only 
a  few  feet  above  tide-water  at  the  flood.  It  is  almost  one  dead 
level.  Only  the  sandy  soil  prevents  its  becoming  a  morass ;  but 
this  rapidly  absorbs  the  rain.  Not  a  rock  or  stone  can  be  found ; 
and  in  this  respect  it  is  wholly  unlike  Cape  Cod,  which  is  equally 
sandy,  but  abounds  in  gravel  and  rocks.  We  are  here,  I  believe, 
in  what  geologists  call  the  tertiary  formation,  which  begins,  I 
think,  in  New  Jersey,  and  covers  the  South  Atlantic  coast.  This 
low  coast,  as  one  might  suppose,  is  penetrated  everywhere  by 
arms  of  the  sea  —  rivers,  or  creeks,  they  are  called ;  but  are 
simply  the  effect  of  the  ocean  tides,  burrowing  —  to  use  Dr.  Mus- 
sey's  medical  term  —  into  the  land.  It  is  a  remarkable  proof  of 
this  power  of  the  tides  that  they  roll  up  the  Potomac,  from  the 
entrance  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles. 
So  they  roll  up  Delaware  Bay,  and  river,  as  far  as  Trenton.  It 
is  a  striking  thing,  when  one  considers  it ;  this  penetration  of  the 
land  to  such  a  distance,  twice  in  24  hours,  by  the  waters  of  the 
ocean,  along  the  whole  coast  of  all  the  continents. 

The  waters  here  are  quite  shallow,  compared  with  Cape  Cod 
bay.     Last  night,  for  example,  in  rowing  over  a  sheet  of  water 


To  His  Children  153 

lying  immediately  before  the  Asylum,  and  stretching  away  to 
Craney  Island,  some  miles  distant,  while  yet  quite  far  from  land, 
we  ran  aground  twice  with  a  very  light  boat.  In  these  shallow 
waters  the  oysters  are  planted  and  cultivated.  The  bottom  is 
soft  and  muddy ;  the  water  not  over  six  to  ten  feet  deep ;  and 
the  surface  of  the  sea  near  the  shore  is  dotted  with  sticks  like 
bean  poles,  which  mark  the  locality  of  the  oyster-beds.  Sea 
crabs  abound  here.  One  evening,  driving  along  the  beach,  we 
saw  a  score  of  colored  fishermen,  including  the  numerous  lads 
and  boys,  who  were  lying  on  the  scorching  sand,  waiting  the 
filling  of  a  huge  net  cast  into  the  sea.  At  our  request,  they  kindly 
consented  to  anticipate  the  time,  and  draw  the  net  to  shore  Its 
contents,  when  emptied  on  the  shore,  were  wonderful  to  behold : 
a  few  fish  —  mackerel,  trout,  sprats,  (a  small  fish  something  like 
bass),  flounders  (or  skates,  as  the  Cape  Codders  call  them)  ; 
with  an  innumerable  multitude  of  crabs  of  all  sizes.  These  crabs 
have  large  claws  like  our  cray  fish.  Their  eyes  are  projected 
from  the  head  on  a  foot-stalk,  which  they  withdraw  at  pleasure 
—  thus  resembling  a  telescope  sliding  in  or  out  of  its  case.  As 
I  approached  them  they  reared  up  on  their  tail,  and  flung  out 
their  claws  in  fierce  defiance.  If  I  put  my  finger  near  them,  they 
struck  at  me  with  a  force  that  made  the  claws  snap  like  a  steel 
trap  when  I  withdrew  my  finger.  They  have  the  spirit  of  the 
game  cock,  and  their  fighting  attitude  is  amazing,  in  such  little 
creatures ;  for  the  largest  are  not  over  six  inches  long.  Crabs 
in  season  sell  at  a  dollar  a  dozen  in  Washington  or  Baltimore. 
Here,  just  now,  they  are  fed  to  the  hogs.  The  men  use  a  four 
or  five  pronged  fork,  like  a  dung  fork,  which  they  thrust  into 
the  poor  crabs,  taking  six  or  eight  at  once  to  fling  into  their  carts. 

There  is  a  new  species  of  crab  here  —  new  to  me,  at  least  — 
not  over  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  and  having  but  one  claw,  a  large 
one  compared  with  their  bodies,  which  they  carry  over  the  shoul- 
der when  they  walk,  as  a  vagrant  violinist  might  carry  his  fiddle. 
Hence  they  are  called  fiddlers.  We  saw  hundreds  of  them  run- 
ning over  the  sand-beach,  as  if  they  were  a  jolly  party  going  to 
a  dance.  Small  jelly  fish  abound  here.  Their  circular,  convex, 
glassy-looking  upper  surface  is  marked  with  brown  rays ;  the 
sign   of   radiates,   proceeding   from   the   center   of   that   surface. 


154  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

Their  pendant  feelers,  which  hang  from  the  under  surface  Uke 
brown  strings,  are  six  to  eight  inches  long.  Mrs.  Agassiz  says 
that  in  some  of  the  gigantic  species  of  jelly  fish  these  pendant 
arms  measure  three  hundred  feet. 

Vegetation  here  is  rich,  arguing  strength  in  the  soil  not  ex- 
hausted by  bad  cultivation.  The  trees  are  chiefly  pine;  the  pine 
forests  exhaling  a  delicious  perfume  very  invigorating  to  the 
nervous  system.  Sycamores  are  common,  and  oaks,  maple,  etc. 
The  laurel  is  scarce.  Sumach,  of  a  more  delicate  species  than 
ours,  abounds.  Yesterday,  I  met  a  tree  like  an  apple  or  cherry 
tree  for  size,  with  leaves  closely  resembling  laurel,  but  with  a 
burr  like  a  miniature  chestnut  burr.  The  darky  lady  before 
whose  door  it  grew,  called  it  "an  acorn  tree".  I  have  not  learned 
its  true  name. 

You  know  that  we  are  here  in  the  very  cradle  of  English- 
American  colonization.  At  Jamestown,  on  the  James  River,  the 
mouth  of  which  is  before  my  window,  and  at  Plymouth,  Mass., 
the  earliest  English  settlements  were  made  in  the  same  year  — 
1620.  The  land  here  has  been  cultivated,  therefore,  for  two  cen- 
turies and  a  half.  Tobacco,  which  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  the  foun- 
der of  Virginia,  first  made  known  to  Europeans,  has  been  the 
staple  and  the  bane  of  this  region.  The  exhausting  nature  of 
"the  weed",  with  slave  cultivation,  and  that  means  the  draining 
of  a  soil  which  is  never  enriched  by  manure,  has  almost  ruined 
the  land.  Corn  is  planted  here  in  rows.  The  hills  are  as  far 
apart  as  ours ;  but  only  one  stalk  grows  in  one  hill,  where  we 
have  three  or  four ;  so  that  the  crop  —  for  each  stalk  bears  no 
more  ears  than  with  us  —  is  but  one-third  of  ours  per  acre.  And 
this  is  all  the  land  will  bear,  cultivated  as  it  is.  The  potato  stalks 
grow  "few  and  far  between",  and  look  as  if  very  loosely  sowed 
over  the  land.  Yet  the  product  itself  is  good  in  quality.  Sweet 
potatoes  are  very  abundant,  and  the  growth  covers  the  field. 


LIX 

TO  HIS  SON 


National  Military  Asylum, 

Southern  Branch 
Hampton,  Va.,  34  August,  1872. 
My  dear  John : 

Our  visit  here  has  been  delightful,  despite  the  Autumn  heat. 

In  the  afternoon.  Dr.  MacDermont  and  I  resolved  to  take  the 
starch  out  of  our  horse.  He  walked  quietly,  and  carried  us  to  Gen. 
Butler's  farm,  as  it  is  called,  six  miles  distant.  The  road  runs 
over  a  level  but  beautiful  country;  once  covered  with  fine  plan- 
tations. We  passed  two  or  three  pretentious  houses,  adorned 
with  ample  lawns,  and  grounds  filled  with  trees ;  cedar  predom- 
inating; but  intermingled  with  elm,  maple,  sycamore,  walnut, 
and  mulberry.  These  were  formerly  the  abode  of  wealth  and 
splendor.  Princely  parties  were  held  here;  the  grounds  illum- 
inated with  lamps,  and  the  groves  resounding  with  festivities. 
We  drove  around  one,  and  saw  the  wretched  "negro  quarters", 
still  occupied,  but  far  meaner  habitations  than  you  ever  saw. 
The  darkies  have  a  favorite  song  —  learned  in  olden  days,  but 
still  remembered  and  repeated.     It  runs  thus  — 

"Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I  see, 
'  Nobody  knows  but  Jesus". 

This  is,  in  fact,  the  whole  song,  with  a  chorus  interspersed  with 
variations.  How  often  has  that  plaintive  wail,  springing  from 
hearts  broken  for  years,  ascended  to  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of 
Hosts!  "God  heard  their  groaning";  (Ex.  2,  24),  and  the  day 
of  vengeance  came. 

Old  Point  Comfort,  and  its  vicinity,  for  years  before  the  war, 
had  been  the  southern  Newport.  Here  were  gathered,  every 
Summer,  the  crowds  of  pleasure-hunters ;  and  here  the  gold 
wrung  from  the  unpaid  toil  of  thousands  of  slaves  was  lavished  in 
luxurious  living.     A  particular  bolt  of  divine  vengeance  fell  here, 


156  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

therefore,  in  the  day  of  wrath.  Hampton  was  the  seat  of  wealth 
and  comfort.  It  was  burned  by  rebel  hands  on  the  approach  of 
Gen.  Butler.  Its  two  thousand  inhabitants  were  homeless.  Be- 
fore our  armies,  marching  to  Big  Bethel  and  Yorktown,  all  the 
sympathizers  with  rebellion  fled;  and  very  few  of  them  ever 
returned.  The  negroes  flocked  from  all  quarters  to  the  protec- 
tion of  our  flag.  They  were  driven  away  in  crowds  from  Sewall's 
Point  by  their  old  masters.  Butler  welcomed  them.  He  allowed 
them  to  cultivate  the  deserted  farms.  He  built  a  large  one-story 
frame  school  house,  capable  of  accommodating  several  hundred 
pupils,  and  an  industrial  school  of  like  size ;  where  he  gathered 
the  children  and  young  folks  for  education.  The  result  is  seen 
from  our  porch  in  the  large  and  beautiful  Normal  School  for 
colored  people,  which  has  divided  with  Gen.  Lee's  Washington 
College  at  Lexington,  the  congressional  grant  of  land  for  general 
educational  use :  this  school  receiving  $100,000.  Around  this 
school,  in  different  directions,  colored  people  are  purchasing  land 
and  building  homes  ;  neat,  two-story  frames,  well-lighted,  taste- 
ful, comfortable ;  and  surrounded  with  trees,  flowers,  and  gar- 
dens. I  have  seen  many  negro  farms  where  the  dawn  of  a  new 
era  in  cultivation  is  most  distinctly  visible. 

Yesterday,  Dr.  McD.  and  I  visited  the  Butler  farm,  as  I  said. 
The  General  bought  two  hundred  acres  of  land  from  a  resident 
here,  and  settled  on  it  the  slave  families  expelled  from  Sewall's 
Point.  He  has  portioned  it  out  in  lots,  to  be  paid  for  in  time  by 
the  colored  purchasers.  We  passed  two  streets  of  huts,  each  a 
single  room,  but  tenanted  by  a  whole  family.  We  spoke  to  many 
of  them.  All  were  wretchedly  poor ;  yet  industrious,  and  happy. 
We  visited  the  patriarch,  a  white-headed,  white-bearded  man  of 
eighty  years.  He  is  infirm  and  almost  helpless ;  but  clear-head- 
ed, warm-hearted,  near  home,  and  he  knows  it.  We  had  a  long 
conversation  on  the  past.  I  never  saw  more  sensibility,  modesty, 
and  gratitude  than  he  manifested.  He  is  a  Methodist;  but  when 
I  had  read  a  chapter  of  Hebrews,  he  followed  my  Presbyterian 
prayer  with  as  fervent  and  earnest  ejaculations  of  "Amen"  and 
"bress  de  Lord",  as  if  I  had  been  a  Methodist.     He  parted  from 


To  His  Son  157 

us  with  a  simple  and  affectionate  expression  of  his  behef  that  we 
shall  meet  in  heaven.  I  found  that  my  noble  friend,  the  Doctor, 
is  well  known  to  all  these  people;  upon  whom  he  has  bestowed 
not  a  little  gratuitous  medical  practice. 

Well,  my  fourth  sheet  is  full;    but  my  head  and  heart  are 
fuller. 


LX 
TO  HIS  SON 


Lane   Seminary,    10   Oct.,   1873. 

My  dear  John : 

Just  before  the  opening  of  our  term,  I  had  a  serious  attack 
of  what  I  suppose  to  have  been  neuralgia  affecting  the  stomach. 
The  severe  pain  abated  in  a  week ;  and  after  losing  one  Sunday, 
I  resumed  my  usual  work.  But  the  full  Seminary  labors  —  we 
have  over  50  students  on  the  ground  —  added  to  my  regular 
summer  labors  in  the  church,  coming  upon  me  in  my  weak  state, 
I  have  been  slow  to  recover  the  tone  of  my  stomach :  and  when 
the  furnace  burns  low  the  locomotive  runs  sluggishly. 

Of  course  I  am  overworked.  I  knew  that  I  should  be  when 
1  assumed  the  care  of  this  church ;  for  I  cannot  do  things  by 
halves ;  cannot  run  on  one  wheel,  as  the  rivermen  say.  And 
until  the  church  at  large  provides  an  endowment  for  my  chair, 
I  must  either  do  double  work,  to  support  myself  in  the  Seminary, 
or  resign  my  professorship. 

Tell  Mr.  Cummin  we  shall  warmly  welcome  him  again,  and 
share  our  Sabbath  services  with  you  both.  I  preach  my  fifth 
sermon  on  the  Life  of  our  Lord,  day  after  tomorrow,  on  the  Bap- 
tism of  Jesus. 

As  to  the  rotary  eldership,  my  judgment  is  decidedly  against 
it;  as  it  is  against  a  rotary  ministry.  I  believe  it  will  do  more 
harm  than  good.  One  of  our  best  city  pastors,  whose  church 
some  two  or  three  years  ago  adopted  the  rotary  system,  said, 
lately  in  our  ministers'  meeting,  that  the  system,  so  far  as  he  had 
observed  it,  had  worked  nothing  but  mischief.  I  found  this 
church  about  equally  divided  on  that  subject:  some  wishing  an 
election  of  temporary  elders,  and  some  decidedly  adverse  to  it. 
I  think  the  first  step  I  took,  which  was  to  postpone  any  decision 


To  His  Son  159 

of  the  matter  until  the  assembly  shall  come  to  some  definite  con- 
clusion on  it,  was  a  long  step  toward  peace  and  prosperity.  I 
would  advise  your  church  to  let  well-enough  alone.  "Let  us 
have  peace".  If  an  elder  wishes  to  retire,  the  way  is  clear.  But 
Mr.  Haas  ought  not  to  think  of  withdrawing.  And  if  the  church 
wish  any  elder  laid  on  the  shelf,  the  way  is  also  clear. 

God  guide  you. 


LXI 
TO  HIS  SON 


^        .  ,  Lane,  21  Oct.,  1873. 

Dear  J  ohn : 

Yours  of  yesterday  reached  me  this  morning.  Thanks.  I 
am  glad  that  our  church  rejected  rotary  Eldership.  Mr.  Mulford 
showed  his  good  sense  in  arguing  that  although  the  rotary  sys- 
tem once  prevailed  in  Scotland,  it  had  been  laid  aside  because  it 
worked  badly.  That  is  the  simple  fact.  And  the  rotary  system 
never  was  in  use  in  this  country,  in  the  Presbyterian  body.  I 
am  glad  that  Mr.  Henry  Brown  pursued  the  moderate  course. 
No  such  decided  novelty  should  be  introduced,  at  any  rate,  unless 
by  common  consent. 

Mr.  J.  B.,  whom  you  name,  will  make  a  very  good  Elder. 
Mr.  G.  B.  I  do  not  know.  Jno.  Stoddard,  Jno.  Edgar,  Mr.  Bar- 
nett,  Johnson  Bradford,  are  four  good  names.  The  choice  of 
Elders  more  closely  concerns  the  prosperity  of  a  church  than  the 
choice  of  a  (modern)  pastor;  for  the  latter  is  sure  to  be  rotated, 
while  the  former  are  stationary. 

*  *  * 

Your  mother  and  I  go  to  the  city  today  to  dine  with  the 
Pounsfords,  old  friends  of  ours  at  Hamilton.  Mrs.  P.  is  a 
daughter  of  the  late  James  Graham,  who  owned  a  paper  mill 
below  Hamilton.  His  widow,  now  at  St.  Louis,  called  on  us 
this  week.  After  all,  there  are  no  friends  like  old  friends.  As 
Lamb  says,  in  his  Elia  essay  on  Christ's  Hospital,  "Oh,  it  is 
pleasant,  as  it  is  rare,  to  find  the  same  arm  linked  in  yours  at 
forty,  which,  at  thirteen  helped  it  to  turn  over  the  Cicero  de 
Amicitia".  My  school-boy  chums  are  all  gone:  but  I  am  thank- 
ful that  an  arm  linked  in  mine  at  28  still  clings  to  rne  at  60.  May 
you  enjoy  the  same  felicity  33  years  hence ! 

My  love  to  all  we  love.  ,.        n-   -n  .u 

^  Yi".  aff.  Father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


LXII 
TO  HIS  SON 


Parsonage,  Walnut  Hills, 

Cinti.,  O.,  23  Dec,  1873. 
My  dear  John : 

Your  kind  and  welcome  letter  should  have  been  answered 
sooner ;  but  I  seem  to  have  no  leisure.  The  church  news  which 
it  contained  was  agreeable.  I  should  be  sorry  to  see  the  Dayton 
people  running  after  self-sent  "Evangelists".  No  doubt  the  Lord 
sometimes  sends  rare  agents,  in  a  low  state  of  religion,  singularly 
fitted  to  arouse  a  slumbering  church,  and  to  startle  a  world  of 
dying  sinners;  men  such  as  Whitefield,  the  Wesleys,  and  others. 
But  these  are  "like  angel's  visits,  few  and  far  between."  The 
history  of  the  church  has  shown  that  more  harm  than  good  is 
done  by  that  class  of  men  who  set  themselves  up  as  "revivalists". 
They  unsettle  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  weaken  their  confi- 
dence in  the  ordinary  and  stated  means  of  grace.  They  tend  to 
make  religion  consist  in  exciting  feeling,  rather  than  in  godly 
living.  They  fill  the  church  with  "wood,  hay  and  stubble"; 
rather  than  "gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones". 

Yet,  a  genuine  revival  of  religion  is  of  all  things  the  most 
needed  now.  The  life  of  the  church  lies  in  that  power  of  the 
Spirit  which  creates  a  true  revival,  pouring  new  life  into  the  souls 
of  men  from  the  Fountain  of  life.  Such  marked  accessions  of 
spiritual  life  have  characterized  her  history,  ever  since  the  Pen- 
tecost. Milner's  church  history  is  valuable  in  this  respect,  that 
it  traces  the  "Effusions  of  the  Spirit"  in  the  successive  ages, 
from  Pentecost  to  the  Reformation.  Such  revivals  are  deep- 
seated,  wide-spread,  enduring.  They  affect  the  life  of  a  genera- 
tion, or  of  successive  generations.  Only  such  a  refreshing  from 
on  high  can  save  the  coming  generation  from  indifference,  infi- 
delity, and  atheism.     The  Lord  send  help  speedily. 

You  know  that  I  am  sixty-one  years  old  today.  In  a  review 
of  that  long  period, —  so  I  once  thought  it,  but  it  has  fled  like  a 


162  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

shadow, —  I  see  much  to  bless  God  for ;  an  unbroken  stream  of 
mercies ;  goodness  and  mercy  following  me  and  mine  like  a  river. 
On  my  side,  I  see  an  unbroken  stream  of  imperfections  and 
shortcomings ;  "my  goodness  extendeth  not  unto  Thee".  On  the 
whole,  a  progress  toward  heaven,  and  a  daily  increasing  desire 
to  enter  that  "better  country,  even  the  heavenly".  Oh  that  I, 
and  all  that  are  dear  to  me,  may  meet  there,  in  unclouded  light, 
to  survey  together  the  paths  of  the  divine  life  by  which  we  have 
been  brought  thither,  and  to  praise  the  grace  that  redeemed  us! 

Still,  there  may  remain,  even  for  me,  years  of  labor,  or  of 
suffering.  I  am  thankful  that, —  sixty  years  short  of  Moses' 
time  of  life,  to  be  sure, — "my  eye"  is  "not  dimmed",  nor  my 
"natural  force  abated".  I  write  and  read  without  glasses;  and 
I  am  about  to  take  my  first  rest  for  eighteen  months ;  not  having 
left  these  hills  since  last  July  a  year ;  and  having  preached  every 
Sabbath,  morning  and  evening,  save  one,  (when  sick  last  August), 
besides  discharging  my  full  duty  as  Professor.  But  sixty  one 
is  not  forty  one;  and  I  need  rest.  We  leave  tomorrow  by  the 
C,  H.  &  D.     Shall  we  meet  you  at  the  depot? 


LXIII 
FROM  HIS  DAUGHTER 

On  the  Death  of  Her  Son 


Maysfield  (near  Dayton,  O.),  Apl.  26,  1874. 
My  dear  Father  and  Mother : 

We  thank  you  very  much  for  the  kind  letters  of  sympathy 
that  have  reached  us  at  different  times.  Father's  coming  last  night. 
I  have  thought  every  day  of  writing  you ;  but  both  Lizzie  and 
myself  have  been  quite  worn  out  this  week ;  and  when  able  to 
do  anything,  there  has  been  so  much  to  do  in  thoroughly  cleaning 
my  room,  bed-pillows,  etc.,  to  fit  it  for  the  little  baby  to  go  back 
into.  I  undressed  to  go  to  bed  but  twice  during  the  three  weeks ; 
and  as  I  gave  him  all  the  medicine  myself,  and  applied  all  the 
remedies  of  every  sort,  I  never  slept  more  than,  and  seldom  as 
much  as,  two  hours  together. 

But  Lizzie  was  more  worn  out  than  I,  and  did  not  sleep  for 
several  nights  after  the  baby's  death,  except  by  snatches.  She 
has  been  in  no  condition,  and  I  was  not  willing  to  have  her  go 
home  until  she  had  recruited  a  little. 

There  is  no  need  to  tell  you,  as  you  have  gone  through  with 
it,  what  a  terrible  sickness  it  was.  The  verses  that  have  struck 
me  most  —  We  are  consumed  by  thine  anger,  and  by  thy  wrath 
are  we  troubled,  etc.  Who  knoweth  the  power  of  thine  anger? 
—  express  it.  The  power  of  the  anger  of  God  that  consumed 
that  poor  little  body  with  a  fiery  poison;  so  that  when  it  wns 
ended  no  one  could  recognize  a  feature  of  the  beautiful  child 
that  had  been  the  pride  of  the  house !  But  God  is  still  merciful, 
and  it  is  real  comfort  to  believe  that  in  that  awful  hour,  the  living 
soul  was  saved  from  more  fearful  ravages  by  the  atonement  of 
Christ. 

Although  very  ill  from  the  first,  he  did  not  have  the  worst 
form  of  the  disease  apparently,  for  his  throat  was  never  ulcer- 
ated :    but  finally  the  glandular  swelling  outside   (one  had  been 


Lindsay  Marc  Parrott      Mary  Virginia  Farmer      Katherine  Gorringe 
Lawrence  Augustus  d'Arcy  Parrott  Mary  May  Gorringe 


(Reading  from  left  to  right) 
Edith  May  Parrott,  Elizabeth  Rogers  Thomas,  Katherine  Parrott, 
Elizabeth  K.  Parrott,  Mary  Sering  Kemfer,  Mary  May  Thomas 


From  His  Daughter  165 

severe  and  obstinate  for  ten  days),  met  as  with  a  band  of  iron 
and  closed  his  breath.  The  poor  little  brain  that  had  looked  out 
so  bright  and  clear  from  all  the  misery  at  last  gave  way,  and  for 
a  day  and  night  was  bewildered :  but  as  he  lay  the  last  morning, 
the  eyes  that  had  crossed,  were  again  perfectly  straight  and  clear- 
ly intelligent.  I  thought  he  recognized  us  all ;  and  I  continued 
to  say  little  things  to  him,  for  I  felt  sure  he  heard,  and  might 
perhaps  get  a  little  comfort  from  earthly  love  as  he  passed 
through  a  valley  whose  darkness  he  could  not  understand. 

Up  to  the  last  two  days  I  felt  hopeful  about  him.  His  con- 
stitution was  so  fine,  and  most  of  the  time  he  drank  his  milk  as 
eagerly  as  when  well.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  ought  to  pull 
through;  and  I  strained  every  nerve  for  three  weeks  to  save  his 
life,  by  the  best  nursing  I  could  give;  and  the  most  careful  ap- 
plications of  the  Doctor's  remedies.  But  all  in  vain.  He  has 
joined  his  baby  sister  in  heaven.  Her  loss  was,  however,  only 
a  feather  to  this.  She  was  a  beautiful  little  creature;  but  too 
young  to  have  engaged  our  afifections  as  he  had :  and  then  she 
had  not  been  missed  from  a  home  she  never  entered.  Little  Edwin 
developed  very  fast  after  you  saw  him  Christmas,  said  everything, 
and  sang  like  a  bird.  His  bright  intellect,  and  big,  warm  heart 
seemed  to  give  extraordinary  promise  for  the  future.  But  there 
must  be  some  special  work  for  which  such  children  are  wanted,  or 
so  many  of  them  would  not  be  taken.  His  last  sentence  to  me 
was,  "I  love  mamma  gut  (good)",  and  the  last  line  he  sang  on 
earth  — "Glory  to  God  on  high",  every  word  distinctly  sung,  as  he 
joined  in  one  of  his  favorite  hymns.     *     *     * 

Please  excuse  this  poor  writing :  my  hand  is  unsteady. 

With  much  love,  your  Daughter, 

Mary  M,  Parrott. 


NOTE  — Mary  May,  infant  daughter  of  Col.  and  Mrs.  E.  A.  Parrott, 
was  born  and  died  in  Germany. 


Mrs.  Henry  S.  Mead  and  Daughter  Jane  Head  Mead 

Linda  Roger  Davis,  Kathleen  Woolson  Davis 
Allen  Perry  Lovejoy,  Jr.  Elizabeth  Ann  Phillips 


LXIV 
TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 


Middlebiiry,  Vermont, 

July  34th,  1874. 
My  dear  Lizzie : 

We  are  indebted  to  you  for  a  very  faithful  correspondence ; 
and  nothing  is  so  cheering,  among  strangers,  as  good  news  from 
home,  and  plenty  of  it. 

Let  me  say,  first,  that  Dr.  Smith  has  not  accepted  the  Presi- 
dency of  Middlebury  College,  as  I  wrote  you.  We  met  the  state- 
ment in  the  newspaper,  at  Albany,  and  were  assured  of  its  truth 
when  we  arrived  here.  But  Dr.  Smith  called  on  Monday,  and 
showed  me  his  letter  to  the  College  Board,  in  which  he  declines 
the  appointment.  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  he  will  probably  con- 
tinue with  us  at  Lane  Seminary  while  he  can  render  service ;  I 
trust  as  long  as  I  remain  at  Walnut  Hills. 

As  to  Mr.  Bellamy,  my  Diary  shows  this  record ;  "Sat.  Mar. 
28.  Pd.  Bellamy  in  full  $6.00".  You  remember  I  gave  you 
$30.00,  and  you  paid  Kay  &  Bellamy  that  day,  being  on  your  way 
to  Dayton,  I  believe.  I  asked  you  on  your  return,  and  you  said 
you  had  paid  both  bills.  Still,  if  Bellamy  cannot  be  satisfied  with 
this  record,  pay  him  again ;  he  is  a  poor  man,  and  I  would  not  have 
him  think  I  am  his  debtor. 

Nat  is  improving  his  time  both  in  work  and  play.  His  health 
is  better.  He  boats,  and  fishes  and  swims,  etc.,  etc.  He  com- 
mits a  page  of  Webster's  dictionary  daily,  and  writes  a  spelling 
lesson  in  a  book;  reads  in  Scott's  poems;  learns  a  chapter  in 
Mrs.  Willard's  Republic  of  America;  and  promises  to  begin 
Geography.  By  the  way.  Airs.  Emma  Willard,  so  celebrated  for 
her  Female  Seminary  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  began  the  school  in  Mid- 
dlebury: afterwards  removed  it  to  Waterford,  N.  Y.  She  be- 
gan what  she  called  the  germ  of  her  Female  Seminary ;  —  and 
she  claims  to  have  originated  the   feminine   application   of  the 


168  Letters  of  Thomas  E.  Thomas 

word  seminary  —  in  Middlebury,  in  1814.  In  1819,  she  trans- 
ferred to  Waterford,  and  in  1831,  to  Troy,  N.  Y.  In  1857  it 
had  three  hundred  and  thirty  pupils,  from  every  State  in  the 
Union,  and  from  Canada.  Her  History  of  the  Am.  Republic, 
and  her  Botany,  are  well  known  text  books.  She  says  that  she 
sent  out  two  hundred  teachers  from  Troy  "before  one  was  edu- 
cated in  any  public  normal  school  in  the  United  States" ;  and 
that  hers  "is  fairly  entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  the  first  normal 
school"  in  our  country.  Judge  Swift's  History  of  Middlebury, 
Chapter  XXIV,  contains  a  good  history  of  her  Seminary. 
Thompson's  History  of  Vermont,  (I  have  met  with  here),  gives 
a  similar  account.  The  College,  and  the  Female  School,  in  Mid- 
dlebury, both  began  with  the  Century,  in  1800.  Mrs.  Willard's 
portrait  in  Judge  Swift's  book  shows  her  a  very  beautiful  and 
intellectual  lady. 

By  the  way,  I  saw  in  a  stone-cutter's  shop  here,  yesterday, 
an  old,  odd,  folio  volume,  (one  of  five  or  six  that  made  the  set), 
which  a  Vermont  soldier  picked  up  while  in  Richmond,  Va., 
during  the  war,  and  brought  home  in  his  Knapsack.  It  was 
Peter  Bayle's  Biographical  Dictionary,  vol.  2nd. 

A  Dieu !     Au  revoir. 
Affectionately  your  father, 

Tho.  E.  Thomas. 


^*AT  THE  LAST" 


"The  stream  is  calmest,  when  it  nears  the  tide, 
And  flowers  the  sweetest,  at  the  Eventide, 
And  birds  most  musical,  at  close  of  day, 
And  Saints  divinest,  when  they  pass  away. 

Morning  is  lovely,  but  a  holier  calm 
Lies  folded  up  in  Evening's  robe  of  balm : 
And  weary  man  must  ever  love  her  best, 
For  Morning  calls  to  toil,  but  night  to  rest. 

She  comes  from  heaven,  and  on  her  wings  doth  bear 
A  holy  fragrance,  like  the  breath  of  prayer: 
Foot-steps  of  angels  follow  in  her  trace. 
To  shut  the  weary  eye  of  day  in  peace. 

All  things  are  hushed  before  her  as  she  throws 
O'er  earth  and  sky  her  mantle  of  repose : 
There  is  a  calm,  a  beauty  and  a  power. 
That  Morning  knows  not,  in  the  Evening  hour. 

"Until  the  Evening"  we  must  weep  and  toil, 
Plow  life's  stern  furrow,  dig  the  weedy  soil : 
Tread  with  sad  feet  our  rough  and  thorny  way, 
And  bear  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day. 

Oh !   when  our  sun  is  setting,  may  we  glide. 
Like  Summer  Evening,  down  the  golden  tide ; 
And  leave  behind  us  as  we  pass  away, 
Sweet  starry  twilight  round  our  sleeping  clay". 


OBIIT  J875 

"We  who  till  then  in  thy  shade 
Rested  as  under  the  boughs 
Of  a  mighty  oak,  have  endured 
Sunshine  and  rain  as  we  might, 
Bare,  unshaded,  alone. 
Lacking  the  shelter  of  thee." 

Matthew  Arnold. 
Lines  written  in  Rugby  Chapel. 


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